Gray Hour
by StripedFuzzySocks
Summary: One by one, kids at Mission Creek High are turning up dead without any evidence leads. After the shadow killer takes out a whole police squad single-handedly, Davenport enlists the Lab Rats to bring the culprit to justice - a task proving impossible thanks to Chase continuously glitching uncontrollably. He knows they can find the killer; they just need to see through the gray hour.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lab Rats or any other Disney owned mention, only this FanFic which belongs to ME. © StripedFuzzySocks**

**A/N: Hello, world. Maybe some of you have read my other story in the making, Daddy's Little Monster, and decided to pick this one up. Or maybe you've only ever seen this story in which case I welcome you to the intricate inner workings of my mind. DLM fans, you should know that this story is rated T for a reason because it has a lot more violence than the other story and a bit of a darker theme, but also is secretly my favorite. I really hope you all love this story as much as I do and without further babbling on my part... enjoy.**

* * *

Prologue

**Gray Minute**

**3rd Person POV**

Laughter echoed through the dank, hollow air of the back alley. This closed off section of the city was not used to company, especially not at this hour, and the abandoned environment as a whole tensed at the unwelcome visitor. The dim, gloomy light of the full moon was the only aid to eyes not conditioned to the engulfing blackness. The laughter continued, louder now as its owner ventured deeper into the depts. It was unnatural, yet it dared to continue.

Finally, the figure revealed itself to the watching alley and it silently took inventory of the sight. A young man in a simple hood strolled unaware of the setting around him, instead focusing on a distant point in space as he continued to laugh. He held a phone up to his ear, carelessly rambling on a conversation in between the chuckles. A sudden crash sounded by a corner draped in shadow, startling the man enough to put his conversation on hold and finally realise how far he had strayed from civilization.

Frowning, he double-checked his phone's GPS to find the same directions as before. The little red dot flashed on the screen, telling him he had arrived at his destination. His frown deepened.

"What?! This ain't no pizza place! Stupid th -," The man's frustrated complaint was cut off by a swift movement knocking the phone out of his hands and latching onto his throat. _The shadows came alive! _was his first weary thought. But as the shock cleared, he realised it wasn't shadows at all, but a teenage boy half his size and yet somehow twice his strength. The boy continued to choke the struggling man effortlessly, his grip only tightening as the man was resorting to wild animalistic insincts in his frenzy to get away.

"Who... are... _you_?" The man managed to gasp out breathlessly, his life ebbing before him.

"Everyone has a different theory, but I'm hoping this will make it perfectly clear who I am." The boy replied calmy, unfazed by his feeble attacks.

"A... k-killer?" The man asked weakly, no longer bothering trying to escape his deadly grasp. It was already over.

"Close." The boy answered. The man's head lolled forward lifelessly and he finally let go, letting his body slump awkwardly against the stone wall. "Spike."

* * *

**A/N:** **So, what did you think? Please please please tell me in a review! They are what keep me writing! By the way, the reason this chapter was so short is because it's only a prologue, but if you guys think I should continue, the regular chapters will be longer - I promise. You write a review, I write a chapter. Thanks for reading, bye! :)**


	2. Chapter 1: youwillnotwin

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lab Rats or any other Disney owned mention, only this FanFic which belongs to ME. © StripedFuzzySocks**

**A/N: So, you have spoken and you want me to continue. Your wish is my command. Specifically, I would like to thank those to did speak up in the honorable mentions: evarock, Lady-Cougar Trombone, fanfictionlover, Emiii, and to fly the distance. Thank you all so much for supporting me. Please note that only the prologue was written in 3rd Person POV and the rest of the story (except maybe the epilogue) will be in 1st Person POV. Anywho, I'll let Chase take it from here...**

* * *

Chapter 1

**...youwillnotwin...**

**Chase**

BANG! I jumped up in my seat, awake and alert from the sudden shaking sensation. Once I roughly wiped away the fog in my heavy sleep-deprived eyelids, I was met with the scowling face of Mrs. Patterson glaring down at me. _Oh, great. Here it comes. _I thought, dreading the lecture on no-sleeping-in-class that would take up the rest of the class time. It was usually some other slacker kid in the huddled unwashed masses of minuses that took this kind of torture, not me! It wasn't even my fault - I had to stay up an extra ten minutes and 24 seconds to finish doing the work on my "partner project" that somehow became all my responsibility. Leo was right - school isn't fun for the smart kids.

Heck, my lab partner hadn't even bothered to show up today when we were supposed to present the final project together. I truly hoped he would get points off for lack of participation for once. Somehow he always found a way to bend the rules to his pleasure. It just wasn't fair. While Mrs. Patterson continued her screeching, I tuned her out and instead let my bionic hearing wander the halls and classrooms of Mission Creek High.

For a minute, I tracked Bree and Owen and they traipsed down the main hallway absent-mindedly. Owen crumbled up a piece of paper and tossed it into the recycling bin by the sound it made, and Bree clapped over enthusiatically. I heard them holding hands, moving closer, lips touching - ugh! Shutting out! I stretched my senses further still, beyond their little honeymoon, and instead focused on two birds fighting noisily over the fallen branches of the huge oak bordering the football field.

Growing bored with the senseless chirping, I ranged further until I could tune into the jock's break from football practise. "One, two, three, four! I declare a thumb war! Five, six, seven, eight! Try to keep your thumbs straight! Nine, ten! Who will win?" Masculine voices chanted. I recognised the pitch and frequency of the first as Trent, but the second was new to me. A few seconds and primitive animalistic grunts later, I picked up a screech of pain and then Trent's voice:

"Ow! Dude, I think you broke my thumb bone!" I let out a small chuckle of amusement as I imagined him hopping around the grass holding his thumb out in melodramatic agony. Knowing Trent, he'd probably get into a fist-to-fist brawl with the guy and add another detention slip to his vast collection. Typical.

"Good god! Could you just sit still and let someone help you?!" His opponent wined, the clud of cleats on grass following - probably to get help. _Just another day in high school._

"Are you even listening to me?!" Mrs. Patterson yelled, jolting me back to my default hearing range (a.k.a. normal kid mode). Caught speechless, I nodded dumbly when I would usually come up a clever response. Great. Sleep deprivation turns me into Adam with an upgrade. But still, it was only about ten minutes lost last night, so why was I so exhausted _all the time_?

"When I ask questions, I get answers!" She screamed.

Just before she could start shooting lasers at me through her beady little eyes, the bell saved me. As efficient and quick as a factory, students poured out into the hallway like sardines escaping the can. I followed the herd without question, just grateful to be out of the torture chamber they call chemistry. I personally love the subject, but awful teachers can make anything miserable. It's an art. When I managed to make my way through the current to my locker, Adam, Bree, and Leo were there as usual. Our lockers were close together, so the short time between classes were ours for the taking. And we take, believe me.

"So, heard you were today's example in the torture chamber. You good? Still in one piece?" Leo questioned.

"How did you find out so fast?" I asked, surprised. In sync, they each held up their phones to display the same mass text: a short video of Mrs. Patterson with her veins popping out and face red as a tomato as she erupted, losing her marbles all over me. Not a pretty picture. Wow, never underestimate the speed of gossip and texting - they keep the world spinning.

"Oh, right. Why do they even bother with the no-cell-phones-in-class rule?" I wondered aloud, awarded with nods and shrugs.

As I filed away chemistry and took out geometry, a new poster on the school bulletin board caught my eye. It was another missing teen notice - this time featuring my lab partner, right down to the simple hoodie. A guilty feeling stirred inside me as I recalled scoffing at his absence, assuming he had simply ditched school, when in reality he could be an abandoned corpse... all alone somewhere... stuffed where no one could hear his screams...

"Uh, Chase?" Adam queried, tapping my shoulder. I flinched as I was jolted out of my own nightmares, but quickly regained myself for their sake. "Whatcha lookin at?"

He tore off the poster to examine it and frowned quizzically. "Hey, isn't this guy your lab partner?" He asked. I nodded, afraid if I spoke, my voice would crack. It's not like we were friends or anything, but this school was getting smaller and smaller as people - kids - kept disappearing, some of them recovered as bodies, some of them forever missing. It was scary. It was just creepy coincidence at first, but as the numbers increased, it became a growing fear among those of us who remain with the billion dollar question: _who's next? _Now it had happened to someone I knew. It was unnerving.

"Ugh, this is creeping me out. Why can't they just catch his guy already?" Bree complained, her voice shaking only slightly. I knew she wasn't scared for herself - she knew how to fight - her fear was purely for her friends (can be translated as "Owen").

"Yeah, I know. But we're okay, right guys? I mean, you're bionic!" Leo exclaimed, turning a few heads.

"Could you scream that last part just a little bit louder? I don't think _New Zealand _heard you!" I commented sarcastically. Leo blushed in embarrassment and turned his attention to his locker.

"Of course New Zealand didn't hear him! They're on the other side of the world... right?" Adam asked for confirmation. Bree, Leo, and I laughed at his innocence that had the ability to shatter every serious conversation we had, and just in time.

"Sarcasm, honey. Sarcasm." Bree corrected, patting his shoulder gently.

"I knew it! New Zealand is NOT on the other side of the world!" Adam declared happily, making us laugh even harder. This is good, the laughter I mean. It helps me forget about everything. I want to forget.

* * *

On. Off. On. Off. Now you see it, now you don't. The short black line taunted me - blinking on at the beginning of a snow white page, then dissolving into the blank as quickly as it came. It had no words to show for its endless exercise because for once I had nothing to give. Language arts was never my best subject due to my lack of creativity, but I had never experienced a writer's block this bad before. Two hours of my life I had wasted in this chair staring stupidly at the blank page that refused to to be filled.

Procrastinating, I checked the clock again. 11:53 PM. Seven minutes until midnight. This was madness! Last night I had fretted about going to sleep at 9:40, now I laughed at my own ignorance. Man, I really had to stop disrupting my own schedule. It was a practical, logical, and efficient system - that's all of my favorite intangible things wrapped up in one. Ugh, my brain was on fire. Deciding to procrastinate some more, I rolled my head drowsily to spy my siblings sleeping peacefully in their capsules unaware of my mental struggle. Well, how _nice _for them.

_You could __make_ _them aware. _A voice whispered deviously. Alarmed, I sat up straight and patrolled the house for any signs of a break in, but the night remained silent. It must've just been in head. Of course, that sounds logical. Perfectly logical. I'm tired, not making any sense, and I just need to focus and get this paper done. Everything's fine. I once again found myself staring the paper down to my wit's end, but I wasn't completely focused this time. I _knew_ I heard something, but I'll never admit it. Not even to myself.

My heart was thumping wildly in my chest as paranoia began to take over, but still I only let myself think logical thoughts that didn't involve knives slashing, blood, screaming somewhere no one hears you... I have got to stop doing that. I'm being ridiculous, I know I am, so why can't I make these thoughts go away? They keep flashing in my head like a bad memory that sticks, no matter how hard you try to forget. I want to forget so bad. So bad... The clock strikes twelve and I finally go to sleep.

:D :) | ): D:

youwillnotwin youwillnotwin youwillnotwin youwillnotwin youwillnotwin youwillnotwin youwillnotwin youwillnotwin youwillnotwin youwillnotwin youwillnotwin youwillnotwin youwillnotwin youwillnotwin youwillnotwin youwillnotwin youwillnotwin youwillnotwin

_Typed at 12:01 AM 4/26/2013 by User: Chase Davenport_

* * *

**A/N: First cliffie, courtesy of moi. I know the beginning was a little slow, but I thought it was important to squeeze in some character building and family fluff so you love them more. Next chapter is when the story _really _gets interesting, so write a review and in the meantime - brace yourself. ;) See ya next chappie...**

**-StripedFuzzySocks-**


	3. Chapter 2: Broke Skin

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lab Rats or any other Disney owned mention, only this FanFic which belongs to ME. © StripedFuzzySocks**

**A/N: Big thanks to all my reviewers: BTRlover1122, fanfictionlover, Lady-Cougar Trombone, and to fly the distance. I'm so glad you all liked Chapter 1 so much, it warms my heart when people like my stuff... that was supposed to sound a lot more sentimental than it came it out. XD Oh, well. I guess Chase gets all the good writing in this relationship. Speaking of Chase, since he did such a good job last time, I'll let him take it over from here. Enjoy. :)**

* * *

Chapter 2

**Broke Skin**

**Chase**

I knew they were there, banging on my capsule relentlessly, but I couldn't let them know that. I did my best to remain perfectly still and oblivious to the world around me. Sleeping people are so lucky in that sense. They are detached from Earth's constant chaos that those awake and aware are forced to endure. Not me. Not today. I could already feel myself slipping into the subconscious, letting my mind surround me... engulf me... become me...

"Wake UP! You're going to make us late!" Bree's irritated voice roughly pulled me back out of the calming depths of sleep. No. No. _No_.

"We know you're faking! I will break this glass!" Adam threatened.

Using every ounce of strength I had left, I groaned deep, low, and long. They had to feel my agony. I tried to step forward, but my aching muscles refused to respond the way they used to and I merely slumped head-first into the clear wall of the capsule. If this is what dying felt like, then I completely understood why people ran around in fear of the end. I've never been so exhausted in my life! I just want to crawl in a hole somewhere no one could reach me and sleep forever. Oh, god. That sounds so nice...

SMASH! The explosive sound of a million tiny shards of unbreakable glass flying through the air startled me awake, but not as much when _I_ went flying through the air. I landed with a sickening thud on tile floor and on instinct, scrambled to stand up regardless of the pain. When my eyes snapped open, everything was a blur at first, but my weary senses adjusted quickly to face the furious figures of Adam and Bree. I so did not want to deal with this right then.

"Good, you're awake. _Let's go_." Adam rushed, already on his way to the elevator. Bree stayed with me, crossed arms matching her scowl.

"What is with you lately? A week ago, you were rushing us along so we got to school on time, and now you're always the last one to wake up. Is there a secret night club I should know about or is this some kind of glitch? What happened to Mr. Early Riser?" She questioned.

"He died and went to the hell that is AM." I replied snidely. Bree just rolled her eyes and followed Adam's lead.

"Well, I'm leaving, with or without you. We already missed first period." She declared in exasperation.

I cocked my head confused after the elevator doors had shut behind them. How could they expect me to leave now? I wasn't even dressed, I had to get my stuff... wait a minute. Looking down, I realised I wasn't even in pajamas - I was still wearing the clothes I wore yesterday. Didn't I change out of these before I retired for the night? I searched my internal memory bank only find a huge gap of lost time. That was impossible. I have an eidetic memory, there's no way I could have forgotten that big a space of history.

I didn't even remember logging off my laptop last night. The mission leader in me said I needed to collect more data, so I slipped into the bathroom to check myself out in the mirror. I looked kind of okay, aside from a few tears and holes in my jeans that I don't remember getting and a huge purple-green bruise on my shoulder (that might've been from me getting thrown across the room, but I wasn't sure). A few red drops were splattered on my cheek, but I scrubbed the dried up liquid clean before I could let my mind process what it was. I was too late. I knew exactly what it was.

Blood... that wasn't mine. Okay, I didn't know what had gone on last night, but it was obviously a glitch and all glitches can be fixed. This was a technological anomaly, so the chances of something like this happening again were a thousand to one. Comforted as always by facts and statistics, I presided to discuss the issue with Davenport after school and in the meantime continue on with my life as though nothing had happened. It was nothing, after all. It kept telling myself that as I began to prepare for the day, going the extra mile with the deodorant - I smelled like I'd been jogging through a swamp.

Ever the personal hygiene enthusiast, I made sure to wash my hands before exposing them to a world of deadly germs. It was then that I found the true horror of the morning. As I ran my hands through the cool tumbling water, I glimpsed a dash of red on my wrist I hadn't noticed before. Frowning, I tried to scrub it off, but the mark wouldn't budge. I turned my arm over for a closer inspection to find the red fleck part of a long, deep scar beginning at the bottom of my palm and ending a few inches up my arm.

I know injuries, and this wasn't accidental. It was clean, straight - no signs of a struggle, so probably not from combat. It looked intentional, as though someone had taken a knife and carved a perfect line deep into my flesh without resistance. And that didn't even make sense, but then again, since when did things ever make sense in my life? It must have happened sometime during the gray hours, the memories I can't access. Is it possible I passed out and this was someone's idea of a joke?

Adam, Bree, and Leo would never hurt me like this, right? I mean, I'd _like _to think otherwise, but as of right now, it was the only thing that added up. It would certainly explain all the other occurrences I'd experienced this morning... they wouldn't. Sure, they pranked, teased, and harassed me constantly, Adam getting the most physical, but they knew boundaries and they wouldn't take it this far. _Right?_

"Yo, Einstein. Look's like today's your lucky day. School's canceled." Bree's voice sounded just outside the bathroom door, causing me visibly flinch in surprise.

"Uh, great." I replied awkwardly, never shifting my gaze away from the scar. "Do you know why?" I asked conversationally, even though I really didn't care at the moment.

"They won't say." Bree said sounding just as unconcerned as I was.

I listened for the sound of her light footsteps walking away before returning to the matter at hand. Carefully, I lifted the towel I had used to wipe the blood off my cheek and laid it gently next to the scar. Double-checking that no one was within range of me, I unlocked my DNA recognition app and scanned the scar blood first. Yup, all mine. Now for the important part. I shined light on the tiny pool of blood sitting idly on the towel, then absorbed the material data...

"Oh, yeah! I almost forgot!" Bree shouted through the door. I jumped and the app started glitching due to the sudden sensory overload and I found myself sitting on the bathroom floor attempting to recompose my disrupted brain. Stupid super speed.

"_What?_" I asked sourly.

"I just came to say that we have a new mission and Davenport wants you be ready for a team meeting. Gosh, so grumpy." Bree responded hurt, obviously detecting my ticked off tone. I suddenly felt bad for being mean to her when she was just trying to help me, so I opened my mouth to take it back. But she tore away in a flash before I could apologise, so I was left alone in the bathroom with nothing but blood and confusion.

* * *

"I'm sure you are all aware about the recent teen murders in our area and the failed attempts to find the person responsible." Davenport began once we were all assembled around the central table in the lab. All three (four! Almost forgot 'mission specialist Dooley') of us nodded our heads solemnly.

"Good. Or I should say, bad. Anyways, the police have found a pattern in the places where the discovered bodies were left. The locations seemed to form a ragged circle around Mission Creek High School, where they suspect the killer is hiding out. Needless to say, they performed a stake out surrounding the school, waiting for the killer to emerge. But apparently he or she had anticipated the attack and surprised them from behind... ten men, not one survivor. This time the culprit didn't even bother hiding the bodies, so whoever it is is getting cocky. Which means this is getting serious. Originally, I wanted us to stay of the situation in order to preserve the secret, but it looks like doing nothing isn't an option anymore. We're the only ones left who can stop this shadow killer in his tracks. All aboard?" Davenport asked, a hint of challenge in his voice.

"I'm in. Let's bust this guy!" Leo exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'm sick of just waiting around for someone else to do our job for us. I'm in too." Bree agreed.

"Me three." Adam said simply.

"I think my alliance to the team goes without saying, but I'll say it anyways. Count me in." I followed lastly without hesitation. It had been awhile since we'd had a major mission to focus on, and it felt good to be back in business.

"Wait, is school actually canceled or are we just ditching for the mission?" Leo asked.

"No, for once, it actually is canceled. The school's a crime scene now." Davenport claimed solemnly.

And so, it was official then. Catching the nameless murderer had to be top priority until the mission was complete, which meant there would be no room for second thoughts or personal worries - all that mattered was the objective. Other people's lives were at stake now, which decided it for me. I couldn't tell Davenport about what happened this morning, or rather, last night. As mission leader, I should be able to handle the minor situation on my own and prevent it from happening again in the future. There was no use causing unnecessary apprehension if it could be fixed. I could fix this.

* * *

**A/N: That's all for now, folks. Thanks for reading, your reviews inspire me to write faster. And one more thing before I clock out of here, I'm doing something new with my stories that I saw done by one of my favorite authors, Spot an Appaloosa (wrote Truth and Denial for Kickin' It). For everyone that posts a review, I will PM a sneak peek of the next chapter, starting this chapter. This system obviously can't work for non-members, but I hope this inspires you nonetheless to vocalize your thoughts. Your opinion matters. :) See you next chappie,**

**-StripedFuzzySocks-**


	4. Chapter 3: 24 Hours

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lab Rats or any other Disney owned mention, only this FanFic which belongs to ME. © StripedFuzzySocks**

**A/N: Thank you, reviews! You inspire me to continue; BTRlover1122, to fly the distance, Guest, fanfictionlover, Lady-Cougar Trombone, and Dauchsundlover. Okay, I have a confession to make. Originally, I had planned this story out to be always Chase's POV, but then I realized we would _never _see Spike that way, so I'm switching things up. Chase is going to have to share the spotlight with fellow bionic, Bree, who is in for quite a shock this week. Enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter 3

**24 Hours**

**Bree**

"What?!" I exclaimed bug-eyed at Davenport.

"Twenty-four hours locked in that little room with _her_?" Chase echoed my own repulsion at the order.

"I know what you're thinking, but this is mandatory for the mission - your peer's lives could depend on it. All you have to do is conduct surveillance for twenty-four hours to determine when and where the killer is striking, and possibly even prevent another murder. And if he or she does show up, it might not even be that long!" Davenport continued optimistically.

"But he's the smart one! Why do I have to help him?" I protested.

"Because if the killer does reveal themself tonight, then it will be your super speed that leads you and Adam right to the scene of the crime and Chase knows this equipment like the back of his hand. _We need you both to do this_." He added more forcefully.

Which pretty much summed up the rest of the afternoon for us. Fortunately, I was able to drain a lot of the empty time with _Teen Fiancé_, my life saver. That is, until the tablet's battery ran out at around sevenish. Frustrated, I tried slapping the electronic like they do in the movies, but it did surprisingly little. Finally, I gave it up and set the tablet on the counter while I spun in the office chair at light speed just because I could. After puking in the trash can for twenty minutes, I needed a new time-waster. Well, you know what they say - drastic times call for drastic measures.

"So, what's going on, brainiac? Cracking time travel? Solving the Da Vinci Code? Playing chess with aliens?" I plopped down next to Chase on the teensy couch with a strained smile that he didn't buy.

"Battery dead?" He asked, understanding. Man, that kid can see right through me. I nodded honestly and he laughed.

"I told you watching TV would drain it all, but did you listen? No!" He continued, earning a bored groan from me.

"Can you stop being you for one second and sympathize a little?" I pestered him.

"What do you want me to do about it?" Chase asked, amused by my childish behaviour. Well, I didn't care. I could be childish if I wanted to!

"Entertain me!" I persisted relentlessly.

"How?" He asked. Wow, he was bored enough to actually consider the idea? We're going to go insane in this box.

"Um... wanna play truth or dare?" I suggested.

"... Oh, what the heck. I'll go first. Truth or dare?" Chase agreed, setting down his own dying tablet to face me.

"Truth." I answered, knowing there weren't many dare options in this sardine can.

"Okay, if we weren't stuck with the whole saving-the-world gig, who would you be?" He asked, surprising me.

"Why would you want to know that?" I asked him, rather taken aback by his choice.

"Come on, tell me you don't at least _think_ about it. I know I do. I'd want to be a heart surgeon. Save lives differently." He shared.

"What's the point of dreaming if it'll never happen?" I mused, growing sad at the notion.

"Because reality isn't enough." Chase pointed out bluntly. "We all need some fantasy to get through the day."

"In that case, I want to be an elementary school teacher. What can I say? I'm good with kids." I finally answered, twirling a lock of brown hair sheepishly. Was he going to make fun of me now or what? I hated being vulnerable.

"I think you'd be good at it." Chase told me, warming that foolish part of the brain that still dares to dream.

"Okay, I think that's enough truth for one day. It's time we go to sleep." I declared, quickly putting my shields back up. I could tell he looked slightly disappointed at my obvious defensiveness, but he didn't say anything. Even Chase knew when to draw the line. Instead, he stood up and took his post in the office chair facing the monitors and sighed drowsily.

"Sure, you go ahead. I'll take the first watch." He volunteered.

"No, you did it most of the day. It's my turn." I argued, already pulling him out of the chair.

"You sure?" He asked for confirmation even though his voice heaved with exhaustion.

"Yeah, you need the sleep more than I do, what with all those top-secret night clubs keeping you up." I joked, earning a laugh.

"Fine, you win." Chase surrendered, making his way to the corner of the room to assume the sleeping position.

With that, I twisted around to face live video feeds, maps, graphs, and other miscellaneous techno doo-dads. For the most part, all was quiet and I began to wonder if the killer might never show his face tonight. But if that happened, would we have to do this again tomorrow and how ever many nights it would take after that? I rubbed my temples to keep myself awake and aware for any disturbances in the equipment. Everyone was counting on me to do this, and I wasn't going to let them down.

Suddenly, I heard the door knob twisting and wrenching along with the sound of someone's fist banging on the door. Startled, I whirled around into a clumsy fighting stance to face the threat. Then I let out a huge sigh of relief and visibly relaxed when I saw what it was. Chase, just Chase, only Chase. I laughed good-naturedly at my own paranoid reaction and fully settled down again.

"Oh, gosh. Wow, you really me got there, Chase! I thought someone was trying to get in." I said, but he didn't respond, only continued banging on the door.

"Um, do you need to go get something 'cause I'm sorry, but the cookies are long gone." No response. If he heard me, he sure wasn't showing it.

"Hey, if this about earlier, I'm sorry I got so twitchy and awkward when we were talking about dream jobs. It's just that I'm not good at emotions and when I talk about that stuff, I feel so vulnerable and like I have to protect myself, you know? Don't take it personally, really. I'm actually kinda glad I got that off my chest. This night wasn't half bad." He still ignored me, attention fully on the door. Rage boiled inside of me at his insensitivity and I stormed to his side ready to confront him.

"Will you just say something?!" I screamed in his ear, knowing his heightened senses would have to respond to that. Nothing. It was just as if I wasn't there at all, only him and the door. Finally, I had had it.

"The door's locked, you idiot! I'm not, so talk to me! If I did something, please tell me. Let me in!" I pleaded, shaking his shoulders. Finally, he reacted. Chase took my arms and forced them off him, then taking a strong grip on me to pin to the wall forcefully. He looked at me, eyes so cold and empty I couldn't even recognise them, and shot a hateful glare that sent chills down my spine.

"You locked it?!" He accused me, voice shaking with rage. Funny, it was deeper than usual. The last time I heard him talk like this... oh no...

"Davenport did. We're on surveillance mission, remember? I know you're in there, Chase, and you remember. I know you do." I spoke cajoling to try and give Chase a chance to regain control. He told me once that the feeling of safety usually brings him back, but danger is a Spike trigger, which raises another question. _How the heck did Spike get here? _But I didn't have much time to contemplate before shooting pain exploded across my face. Shocked, I laid a hand on the hit area as I stared wide-eyed at Spike. He punched me! The brute actually hit me! Wasn't he hard-wired to _protect _the team?!

"_That was a lie_." He hissed through clenched teeth. "I bet you locked it on purpose, didn't you? Wanted to be super girl and save the town from the horrible bad guy?!" He taunted.

"That's the plan." I shot back evenly, refusing to let any weakness show through.

"You stupid, stupid fool. You have no idea what you've just done to yourself. Going up against me is a death wish." He threatened.

Just then, he threw another punch at me, which I swiftly dodged. While he was distracted with the delivery, I managed to wrench myself out of his clutches and hold a fighting stance behind him. Spike whirled around to face me, cold determination hardening his features. It clicked in my head just then that I couldn't get out of this by talking. Chase was long gone, and the only way he could come back is for me to win this, so I would. I would do it for him.

This time, I didn't wait for Spike to make the first move. I went on the offensive and threw a punch his way, which he proceeded to grab and twist. Knowing he planned to flip me, quick as lightning, I landed a no-mercy blow to his shoulder joint, causing him to suck in a pained breath and loosen his grip on my other hand. Taking advantage of the opening, I wrenched it away and punched him right in the cheek bone, the exact same move he had used on me less than a minute ago. Ah, sweet revenge.

He recovered from the blow much quicker than I'd hoped and aimed an unforgiving kick at my head. On instinct, I ducked, avoiding the knockout. Little did I know, he had anticipated my response and struck a foot square into my chest, taking my breath away and causing me to stumble backwards. He followed close behind with another hard fist flying my way. I blocked the punch and held his arm captive as I prepared to assault the rest of him, but Spike had a different idea.

Instead of focusing on freeing his arm, he made use of the other by striking out several times in a row, just like I'd imagine a machine gun would, to my exposed torso. I lost count of how many blows I'd taken, but I wasn't focused on pain. Like Davenport always said, pain is merely nerves talking to your brain, and you can choose to ignore the message. So, I stuck it out and wrenched his arm in inhumane ways until the pain became so much that he quit assaulting me, instead landing a quick karate chop to the arm that held his and he was free again.

Before I could even think, he lashed out again with that foot of his and got my chest _again_. I stumbled back to Square One against the wall where Spike triumphantly punched me in the jaw, and I'm pretty sure I heard something snap. He threw another iron fist at my head, which I dodged, but remembering how well that turned out for me last time, I followed up with a side-step that positioned me behind him, leaving his chest kick swiping at air. Ha, loser.

Taking advantage of his blind spot, I kicked him in the side as hard as I could, knocking him right into the office chair, which rolled into the fancy equipment. Oh, man. Davenport would kill us if we broke his stuff! Just as the thought voiced in my head, my tablet suddenly went sailing through the air at me, but I punched it out of the way. What... oh, molecular kinesis. This was going to be interesting. Just then, every object in the room other than the couch and TVs were hurtling towards me from every direction.

I super-sped out of the line of fire, leaving the objects to fall to the ground where I had stood just a second ago. Now I was between Spike and the wall of TVs wearing a defiant smirk that enraged his. He obviously wasn't used to people fighting back. He prepared to kick again, but I knew his offensive patterns by now and zoomed backwards, accidently shattering the TV screens in doing so. Glass shards carved up my back and it took all my will power not to scream in pain. They weren't deep, they would heal, I told myself calmly.

Meanwhile, an anger rose within me so great it was overwhelming. I never knew such rage existed inside me, In fact, it scared me a little. But I decided to give into the tide of hate if it would get my brother back. Spike noticed it too, dark eyes flickering in fear for a moment, but it passed so quick I thought I might have imagined it. Moving at the speed of light, I rammed him like a bulldozer right through the door, hoping he had as many wood splinters as I had glass cuts.

His body slammed onto the hood of Davenport's car, the one that brought us to the hideout, and made no immediate moves to get back up. I zoomed to his side, wondering if he was too hurt to bounce back or if he was transforming into Chase. Anyway, I had a fist at the ready if the answer was neither. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open and he used both legs to toss me backwards with a donkey kick, so my punch was out of range.

I braced myself for his next attack, but it never came. Instead, he took off running through the alley, hugging the shadows as he sped along. I blazed light-speed style again to stop him in his tracks. Spike looked at me with so much hatred that I flinched in spite of myself. I just hated that he was able to do that with Chase's eyes.

"Step. Aside." He growled menacingly.

"Not gonna happen, hun. What, you just can't fight anymore? Super girl too much for you?" I snarled.

"Don't flatter yourself. I simply have better things to do than trade traveling pants with the sisterhood." He shot back, trying to shove past me. I deliberately blocked his path.

"You know, for someone who just got his butt kicked three ways to Sunday on a Wednesday, you're in quite a hurry. Somewhere to be?" I interrogated.

"You let me worry about that, huh? Just get out of the way!" Spike boomed, though I could sense some nervous tension on his part. "Running out of time... not enough time..."

Without warning, he grabbed my arm and flipped me onto my back, my glass wounds re-opening on the cement sidewalk. With the element of surprise on his side, he took advantage of the moment and pinned me down beyond escape. I struggled and fought, but he had a good grip on me this time and I stayed put. _Spike's never laid a hand on me until today. _Was all I could think as his hands closed around my neck... tightening...

Suddenly, the weight lifted and I gasped for air, struggling to recompose myself on the cold, hard ground. I probably looked like a fish out of water - mouth open and begging for oxygen, body flopping clumsily in its quest to get back up. Finally, I was able to haul my aching self to a sitting position and look around me. Spike sat next to me, looking scared and confused, eyes wide and caring again. But they weren't his eyes, not anymore. My Chase was back and I've never been so happy to see him in my life.

Before he could ask me what was going on, I threw my arms around him a tight embrace and sobbed into his shoulder.

* * *

**A/N:** **Wow, that was the longest chapter yet! I have to say, this one was _so _fun to write and I hope you enjoyed reading it. As always, reviewers with their PM turned on get a preview of the next chapter, so please type away. :)**

**-StripedFuzzySocks-**


	5. Chapter 4: Awake For Now

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lab Rats or any other Disney owned mention, only this FanFic which belongs to ME. © StripedFuzzySocks**

**A/N: Thank you so much, reviewers! Love you all; BTRlover1122, ADayWithoutCHEERIsADayWasted, fanfictionlover, to fly the distance, Lady-Cougar Trombone, butterflygirl060, and Guest. This chapter takes place directly after the last, just so you know. Enjoy. :)**

* * *

Chapter 4

**Awake For Now**

**Chase**

No. My mind refused to accept what I saw in front of me. I didn't know how or why, but this couldn't be real. I didn't do this, and yet I _saw _it right before my eyes. My hands on her pulseless throat. Bree's. She lay utterly lifeless underneath me, and suddenly the shock cleared. I pulled away immediately as if she were a contagious disease, sheer horror overtaking me. No. No. This is a nightmare and I have to wake up. But I was immobile, frozen to the concrete sidewalk unable to do anything but relive the past minute over and over again in my head, my eyes fixed on a distant point in space in shock.

Suddenly, a cough. A sharp intake of air. Finally, I managed to wrench my gaze from my personal nightmares to track the sound. And there was Bree, coughing and sputtering on the ground, struggling with great effort into a sitting position. _She's alive. _I processed slowly. But that brought me little comfort to the other parts of the story, the ones tearing away at my heart, the ones I still couldn't believe to be true. They weren't. I wouldn't - never. Then it occurred to me that Bree would know the truth - she could tell me for sure that I didn't. I opened my mouth to ask her, but before the words could come, I found myself thrusted in a tight embrace, her tears soaking up my shoulder. I didn't care, though. I never wanted to let go, because I knew this was real.

For a few long minutes, we stayed there, neither one of us wanting to be the first to pull away, but eventually Bree eased back from the hug, while still staying as close to me as she could. I could hear her heart pounding, her relieved breathing patterns. It reminded me of the body's natural responses after waking up from a nightmare, as I recalled from my training. Did that mean this was all a horrible illusion after all? Would I get to wake up next to find myself safe and sound enclosed inside my capsule? Bree wiped away the rivers of tears still flowing and looked at me with a soft expression I couldn't read.

"You're back." She said simply, but behind those two words a world of turbulent emotions danced. I could see it in her eyes.

"Did I go somewhere?" I asked blankly, searching for clarity. My empty memory space told me nothing.

"It doesn't matter, you're never going away again. I'll make sure of it." Bree promised fiercely, grabbing my hand and squeezing tight. It was just then that I noticed several tiny cuts crawling up her arms and gushing down her back. I gasped and sprang to my feet in worry, pulling her up with me.

"What's wrong?" She asked worriedly. Now that I was looking for it, I could find cuts and bruises all over her body and my heart rate sped up as I jumped to conclusions.

"You have to tell me everything - now." I demanded, the same dread from before creeping back. "_What happened?_"

"We better get back to the surveillance room. I'll explain everything there." She said grimly, not looking me in the eye as she began heading back.

I followed warily, getting that feeling that I was missing some big part of the picture. When we finally made it back, the first thing I noticed was the lack of door. And then, the tiny room was a wreck - did I miss a tornado... or two? Objects, gadgets, and couch pillows were strewn everywhere, some smashed beyond hope of repair. The TV wall's guts were splattered all over the floor in a pool of sparkling crystal daggers. The neat little room standing as the last thing I remember was wrecked beyond recognition. Awe, Davenport's gonna kill us for this. How are we to clean up a mess this huge?

"Some context here would be nice." I hinted. Bree chuckled nervously and sat on the couch twirling her hair as she found the right words.

"Well, the cameras didn't get any killer tonight, but he found us - or me, anyways. Spike came." She started. I settled down next to her and urged her on. "So, he tried to get out and I told him he couldn't and that's when _this _happened." She continued, motioning to the damage surrounding us.

"I hurt you?" I translated, gently pulling out a glass shard dripping red out of her arm. She flinched but didn't try to stop me as I continued to take out piercing little glass fragments scattered on her body.

"No, no. You didn't do anything. It was all Spike. You had nothing to do with this." Bree reassured me, gasping as I removed a big one. I froze.

"Are you okay? Do you want to take a break?" I asked. She shook her head 'no'.

"I'm fine. Just keep going. The last thing I need on top of everything else is an infection I can't reach." She insisted.

So, I continued, but secretly only took care of the little pieces for then. I was already heavy with guilt at the knowledge that I had been the one to plunge them in the first place. The last thing I wanted to do was cause her more pain. I know what she said about it not being my fault, but it was _my _fist that hit her, _my _strength that abused her, and _my _mouth that put her down. I may not have been in control of those things at the moment, but I should have been and I wasn't. Surely there must've been something I could've done to stop Spike from emerging. I mean, it's my body. Mine. I'm responsible for what it does. And destroys.

"So, somewhere in the fight, I threw y - _him_ through the door and out into the street where you saw the rest." Bree explained tightly.

"You mean when I nearly choked you to death?" I translated again. She turned around angrily to face me.

"It wasn't you, okay?! It was him, that, Spike, but not you! You're not the same person." She argued, looking at me intently.

"Spike is a defense mechanism, not a separate human being. It was technically me the whole time." I persisted, feeling sick by the statement.

"Look, I know you and you would never let this happen if you had any kind of control. Who knows? Maybe he's evolved into his own identity somehow." She suggested.

"So, you think that there are two different people living inside my head and sharing control of my body, one of which is not even aware?" I said doubtfully.

"Well, when you say it like _that _it sounds crazy. Do you have anything better?" Bree asked. I opened my mouth with a perfect scientific explanation for everything at the ready, only to come out empty. I closed it again, my famous thinking face giving away my loss for words.

"That's what I thought." She laughed. "You know, there is a way we can find out for sure if the Commando App is glitching..."

"Davenport." We said in unison. I really didn't want it to come to this, but we had to know what was going in inside me. I had to make sure that this never happened again.

* * *

"So, are you experiencing any kind of abnormal symptoms not explained by life's ordinary occurrences?" Davenport asked me as he began scanning my chip and brain for any signs of a disturbance. I tapped my foot on the capsule floor as I thought back to the past month.

"Large gaps of memory loss, constant drowsiness and fatigue, and... I've started hearing voices inside my head that aren't mine." I hesitated to share the last part of the report out loud because it made me sound like a crazy schizophrenic. How would it look to everyone if their mission leader went mad? Who knows, maybe I am. But I promised I would do whatever it took to fix the app, and this fell under the category of whatever. Leo giggled under his breath at my statement, but was promptly hushed by Davenport, who was still studying the holographic screen like his life depended on it.

"Not a laughing matter, Leo. There is something seriously wrong here." He said ominously. I tensed, waiting for him to elaborate.

"You were right about the fatigue, this brain of yours is worn out. As for the voices and memory gaps... that's quite a story." Davenport updated us.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked suspiciously.

"You see, your automatic conscious memory bank retrieves nothing from the empty time slots as you said, but why the increased release of adrenaline in the hypothalamus at the demand? Your subconscious mind is recognising something in the slots like fear or danger. See, when I try to go back to the blank dates, your flight-or-fight response goes nuts. And not to mention, the Commando App trigger in the chip is signaling recognition of the missing pieces as well - and it's not even programmed to be _wired_ into the rest of the brain when not activated. And see, when I try to get into that part of the chip, it shuts me out - goes totally bonkers. You kids were right, something is up with Spike." Davenport explained. A silence hung over the lab.

"... You lost me at 'quite a story'." Adam admitted. Bree and Leo also nodded sheepishly.

"It means that Spike not only is controlling Chase's subconscious mind at all times, but also has developed the ability to completely take over the entire body temporarily _at will_. And these take-overs are growing steadily longer and more frequent until..." Davenport's voice trailed off.

"Until Spike all the time?" Bree finished horrified. He nodded forlornly.

"But you can stop it, right?" Leo laughed nervously, shifting his feet in apprehension.

"Maybe, but he's tangled in there pretty deep... this is very intricate work. I'm afraid if I try to extract him from the system, it'll damage Chase too." He said.

"You have to try." I persisted determinedly. I was fighting for my _mind_ here, and I wasn't giving up at the first road block. He looked doubtful, then suddenly snapped his fingers as an idea formed.

"You know, there might be a way to safely shut down the Commando App while still leaving you relatively unharmed." Davenport mused.

"I'm listening." I said optimistic.

"If we can trigger a take-over, I'll have access to the missing memories and, if everything goes as planned, transfer those memories to you. This will, in theory, place you back in power and return the Commando App to its original function. I repeat - in theory. This only works assuming that Spike has not evolved into his own identity, in which case we'd have to go about it differently, but I'm sure he hasn't gotten that far." He assured us.

"Wait, are you saying we have to bring Spike out in order to fix it?" I asked warily.

"Yes, I know what you're thinking, but it's the best way. Trust me." Davenport insisted. I nodded slowly, considering.

"Fine, on one condition." I agreed. "You strap me down, restrain me, isolate me. Make it so I can't hurt anybody. Deal?"

"Hold on! Are you really sure that's necessary?" Adam protested.

"Uh, yeah. It really is." Bree beat me to responding, tracing a delicate finger along a stitched up scar cascading down the side of her almost perfect face.

"Okay, then. Deal. Let's meet the man of the hour." Davenport announced.

* * *

**A/N:** **That's all for now, people. :) Anywho, please review because members with their PM turned on get a sneak peek! Always a pleasure,**

**-StripedFuzzySocks-**


	6. Chapter 5: Interrogation

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lab Rats or any other Disney owned mention, only this FanFic which belongs to ME. © StripedFuzzySocks**

**A/N: A big, hearty thanks to all my reviewers; Cuteskull, BTRlover1122, ADayWithoutCHEERIsADayWasted, to fly the distance, fanfictionlover, and Lady-Cougar Trombone. You all rock. And I also noticed many of you wondering about the mystery killer's identity and Spike's true motives. This chapter will bring both into the light. And without further ado, enjoy...**

* * *

Chapter 5

**Interrogation**

**Adam**

I stood by while Davenport cuffed Chase to a chair in the plain white time-out room he used to send us in when we were bad as kids. We hadn't told Chase yet, but we suspected Spike of the recent murders and today we planned to question him about them. Why didn't we tell Chase? Because he was already bordering on depression about last night and the last thing he needed right now was a weak mind. Well, at least that's what they all said. I thought we should all be in this together like the old days, when the missions were stopping runaway trains, not interrogating a possible murderer living inside my brother. For example.

I truly did not think Spike did any of those things they think he did. I mean, I know him personally as a friend, an ally. He may have just been an app to everyone else, but to me, he was the brother I never had. We shared so much in common and as long as I didn't break the don't-punch-me rule, we were cool. He liked smashing stuff, I liked smashing stuff. He liked questioning Davenport's authority, I liked watching the effects. Sure, he had some control issues and was tough as nails, but that didn't mean he was a killer. Maybe he even knew something about the person who did and we just needed to ask him. Get him to open up to us about it. I'm sure if they just let me talk to him, I could prove his innocence and still keep him _and_ Chase around. Just like the old days.

Davenport led us all out of the room, and I looked back once at Chase before shaking my head and following. The door shut with an ominous slam behind us and I wordlessly gathered with the team minus one at the lab's wall of TVs. We would have met in the surveillance room, but couldn't for obvious reasons. At Davenport's signal, the screen whirred to life showcasing Chase tied down alone in front of a single metal table. He looked right at the camera and gave a simple tight nod to proceed. Taking a deep breath, Davenport flipped a switch.

:D :) | ): D:

"Hello?" A deep familiar voice called out from the video feed. "I'd like to know what I'm being charged with. You know, you have to charge me with something eventually. I know my rights." Spike was out and ticked off.

"I don't understand why you won't just let me speak with him." I argued.

"Fitz is a good, long-time friend of mine and very experienced in these matters. If Spike did something, he'll know about it." Davenport stated. Next to him, Fitz browsed the profiles of the missing and dead teen reports with his trademark expressionless face and dark sunglasses. Suddenly, he closed the file and began walking down the hallway to the time-out room without a word said. Also a trademark. I narrowed my eyes with distrust, not liking this one bit.

"Hello?!" Spike called out again, even more agitated. "These cuffs are digging into my wrists! I have no circulation! HELLO?!"

Just then, Fitz entered the room, closing the door behind him and taking a seat across from Spike. He calmly removed his sunglasses and looked into his eyes intently. I nervously scratched the back of my head in apprehension, getting a really bad feeling about this.

"Well, about time." Spike scoffed.

"You like to call yourself Spike." Fitz began. Spike rolled his eyes and slouched back in the chair.

"And?" He pressed, sounding bored.

"Just making conversation. Now, I have to ask and you know I have to ask: Have you been practicing the ancient tradition of dance?" Fitz asked suddenly.

"_What?_" Spike and I said unison. I was used to the feeling of being lost, but this time it had to be shared. I mean... _what_?

"Hip-hop, jazz, ballet, clogging?" Fitz continued. _What is he getting at? _I wondered. Highly experienced, huh, Davenport?

"What the heck are you talking about?!" Spike yelled impatiently.

"I'm just trying to determine why it is you are out all night coming home exhausted and sometimes bruised." Fitz said calmly, unfazed by his raised tone.

"I demand a phone call and an attorney present." Spike ordered stiffly.

"No phone call. No attorney." Fitz replied.

"I know my rights." Spike countered.

"And no rights." Fitz finished grimly.

"You are in big trouble." Spike threatened. "When the Davenport's find out what you're doing, you and this entire department -,"

"This isn't a department." Fitz stated.

"What?" Spike said again. Oh, I couldn't watch... but I had to.

"And I'm not a cop." Fitz continued.

"Then who are you? What is this place?!" Spike demanded.

"All irrelevant. The only thing relevent things here are these..." Fitz said, spreading out the profiles on the table so Spike could see. "Tell me where they are."

"I've never seen these people before in my life." Spike claimed so convincingly I wanted more than anything to believe him. I think I did.

"Take a closer look." Fitz pushed Spike's head down close to the table so it hovered just inches above the pages. "Squint if you have to."

"I told you I don't know them!" Spike persisted angrily. Fitz let go of him and returned to his seat, no doubt thinking up another painful tactic. Nope. I couldn't do it. I just couldn't watch this go on anymore. This was so wrong! Fitz was going about this all the wrong way! I turned to Davenport pleadingly.

"No, no, no. This is exactly the wrong approach to take with Spike! We need to let him know that we're on his side." I begged.

"But we're not on his side." Bree stated grimly, staring emotionless at the continuing interrogation. "That thing is not Chase."

"Maybe not, but I know him - Spike, I mean. We were close. If he did something, he would tell me! Just let me talk to him - _please_." I persisted.

Davenport shook his head. "Sorry, Adam, but that's not the best thing to do. Bree's right - Spike is becoming dangerous and unpredictable. Let the professionals handle this."

"Fine." I surrendered. "I'm just going to the bathroom."

Davenport nodded and I left the room seething. How could they just sit back and watch him be harassed like that when he might not even be responsible?! I paced in the hallway, trying to think of some way to help Spike out. Ugh, my brain hurt. Thinking was Chase's job, not mine. I tread on my heels until I stumbled into the kitchen and got an idea. A brilliant idea. They would be mad at first, but then they'd come around and understand that I had no choice. Maybe one day they'd thank me. Spike certainly would. With that thought in mind, my pupils burned red and centered on the smoke detector.

* * *

Davenport's high-speed self-driving car thundered down the road, carrying in it only two passengers; me and Spike. After I set off the smoke alarms, the water sprinklers showered every room in the massive house, including the underground lab and its buried chambers. That combined with the screaming of the alarm caused enough chaos for me to free Spike and escape together in Davenport's car (Fitz was the first to run off in a panic, abandoning Spike). I knew we were both tagged with GPS, so I would have to do the questioning in the car while we were in motion, but I could make it work.

"So, how you doin'? You okay?" I asked Spike, who sat in silence gazing out the window.

"Now that you're here." He laughed. "I'll say it; I did not expect this from you. Even though you're like the only person who actually wants me around, I'm still a bit surprised."

"Well, believe it. I'm just trying to do the right thing." I said honestly. Just then, my phone rang and I checked it to see the caller as Davenport. Oh, man. I am in so much trouble it's not even funny. I held it for a few moments, debating whether to answer it, when Spike suddenly spoke up.

"You should answer it. Let them know we're okay, then hang up." Spike ordered in his leaderly way. So, sucking in a deep breath, I tapped 'answer'.

"Adam! Please tell me you're okay!" Davenport's panicked voice demanded as soon as the call began.

"I'm fine. Spike is too. We're both fine and we're going to solve this together." I answered, trying to sound strong and in control.

"_What are you thinking_?! Both of you, get back here right this second or I'll - I," Davenport stammered, sounding terrified.

"Davenport, it's okay. We tried it your way, it didn't work, so Spike is just going to have a little chat with his bro." I tried to console him.

"Wait, but -," Spike suddenly turned off the phone, cutting Davenport off mid-sentence.

"Hey, he was trying to tell me something!" I protested, shoving the phone back in my pocket.

"It was redundant, whatever it was." Spike shrugged, dark gaze fixating out the window once more.

In my head, I decided that now would be a good time to bring up the murders, now that he was calm. Leaned back in his chair, Spike gazed outside wearing a serene expression. I never recalled him looking so happy before - ever. Davenport told us Chase's Commando Mode was only capable of one emotion - aggression, the fight part of a fight-or-flight, but this was a side of him that's never been expressed. Did this mean that Spike had evolved into a complete persona after all? Either way, I was running out of time and needed to start talking now if this was going to work.

"So, Spike." I started, causing him to look at me expectantly. "You like looking out the window?" I silently scolded myself for beating around the bush.

"The day sky is different, that's all." He shrugged nonchalantly. I was about to ask him what he meant by different, then realised that he'd only ever seen the night and had been trapped indoors during his rare daytime appearances. This was a whole new experience for him. And I hated to rain on his parade, but I had to clear his name.

"Good... that's not what I wanted to ask you." I said awkwardly. Spike laughed and reclined his seat forward so he sat up straight and looked me in the eye.

"I didn't think it was. What's up?" He asked.

"Um, do you remember some of the questions from your interrogation?" I started off slowly. He slightly tensed.

"I have an eidetic memory." He reminded me calmly, smooth voice not matching his rigid posture.

"I'm not saying you did it, I just wanted to ask you what you thought, you know, about the murders." I cleared up, causing him to loosen again.

"Fate, I'd say. Everyone faces it eventually. Just because a couple teens met it in their prime doesn't mean you have to go and make a big deal about it." Spike shared.

"So, you think it was mass suicide, then?" I pressed.

"I never said that!" Spike countered, looking frustrated. "I said that it was fate - meant to happen."

"But what do you _mean_ by that?" I persisted, desperately trying to pull something out of him. Spike sighed in exasperation and reclined his seat again.

"Let's just say I'm a strong believer in -," To finish his sentence, he slapped his left shoulder with his right fist. I looked at him both amused and confused.

"What is this?" I asked him, copying his motion. "Some kind of boy scout code or something?"

"It means 'shoulder to the wheel'. You work hard, you earn your way through life. Like in hunting. If you kill a deer, fate decided it was its time to die. If it gets away, it proved it deserved to live. That's 'shoulder to the wheel'. It took awhile, but I finally found someone who deserved to live. Once I can stay, we'll be together forever, just like fate wanted. _Finally_." Spike exclaimed passionately. It clicked in my head just then. Everything. I pulled over the car by a small, run-down bakery and took out the keys, turning it off. Spike looked at me confused, but before he could ask any questions, I spoke first.

"It was you, wasn't it?" I asked, my voice hard.

"Was was m -," I cut him off.

"You killed all those people." I accused, certain of it now. How could I have not seen it before? He was insane.

"Fate." Spike answered tightly. I lost my patience and grabbed him by the shirt.

"No, it wasn't fate, it wasn't a shoulder, and it sure as heck wasn't a wheel! You killed them, Spike! You killed all those innocent people and I - I believed you. I stood by you, and you were guilty this whole time!" I shouted angrily. Spike released his shirt and forced me backwards, pinning me against the window.

"You have no right to judge me! You have no idea what it's like to be me! To live the life I lead! You have no idea what it's like to scream where _no one_ hears you! Well, I'm screaming now, baby, and she hears me. She hears me." He shouted back, pulling a gun from his pocket. How the heck did he get his hands on a gun?!

"You're going to kill me too, aren't you?" I realised, my heart sinking down to my shoes.

"No." He answered. "You're my only friend." Then he plunged a pen into my leg and with a mind-numbingly painful jolt, the world went black.

* * *

**A/N:** **Just to clear up any confusion on the last sentence, that was a shock pen. Anyways****, what did you think? Tell me in a review, 'cause members with their PM turned on get a sneak peek of the next chapter, so why not click that little blue button that says 'post'? Come on, you know you want to... ;)**

**-StripedFuzzySocks-**


	7. Chap 6: Faith, Trust, and Basement Dust

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lab Rats or any other Disney owned mention, only this FanFic which belongs to ME. © StripedFuzzySocks**

**A/N: Thank you reviewers, you drive this story along; BTRlover1122, glowing starry eyed, ADayWithoutCHEERIsADayWasted, AnMaRo412, fanfictionlover, Lady-Cougar Trombone, TheRedFlowerOfFire, crazyinlovesky15, and 10pandasrule10. Sorry about the wait, I know it was a little longer than usual just because of an annoying thing I like to call 'real life'. Anywho, the new chappie starts... right about... now!**

* * *

Chapter 6

**Faith, Trust, and Basement Dust**

**Bree**

"Are you sure you should? I mean, of course you should! It could be a matter of life and death, but that could also mean _your _life or death, and nobody wants to risk that. Then again, if you stay, it could only be you left and nobody wants that... two to one - you're out-voted. Bree, you're going. That's final. But... it could be too late already, in which case sending you would be redundant and only cause further injury, but we don't know that for sure! We have to find out - Bree has to find out, that's why she has to go. But does it necessarily _have _to be Bree, I mean, we could..." I groaned and interrupted Davenport's babbling.

"_Davenport_. I'm going. End of discussion." I laughed, rolling my eyes as I packed the mission bag. Didn't he have faith in me?

"Okay, okay. Just try not to re-open any cuts, alright? Track them down and bring them back. No crazy heroics." He warned.

"Yeah, I got it." I answered, carefully tucking the body bags under the other supplies so they weren't immediately visible. That was a last resort along with the shock pen that Davenport always had us carry. Finally, I zipped up the bag and slung it over my shoulder as I prepared to run as only I could. I just hoped my first solo mission wouldn't have to involve blood shed. Just as I was about to zoom off to the given coordinates (thank you, GPS implant), one of Davenport's many machines in the lab started beeping in an electrified frenzy along with something flashing red. Never a good sign.

"Uh, Davenport? Is there something wrong?" I asked anxiously.

"Yes! Yes, _yes_. Very wrong..." He droned off as he ignored me and tinkered with his gadgets, getting into what he calls 'the zone'.

"Hey, here's a crazy idea! How about telling me what's so very wrong?" I suggested sarcastically.

"Adam's stats are peaking in every dimension! See these squigglies?" He asked. I nodded. "Those aren't 'fun road trip with the guys' squigglies, those are 'fight for your life' squigglies! Very wrong squigglies!"

Before I could comment, everything suddenly calmed down to a normal machine-like hum, alarms going dead and red flags stopping their flashing. Davenport started pacing and rubbing his chin as he mumbled to himself, once again ignoring me completely. I sighed in exasperation and clapped loudly to get his attention. Startled, he remembered that I existed and gave me an annoyed 'what was that for' look.

"Update me! What just happened?" I persisted.

"Oh, right. Yes. He's out cold. Unconscious. Adam is completely..." His voice trailed off again as he plunged into deep thoughts, but I got the gist.

"Okay, so he's unconscious. I'm leaving now before it's too late." I announced. Davenport nodded agreeably, his face strained with worry.

"Alright. Just be careful out there." He cautioned. I pulled him in a tight one-second hug and let go.

"I will. Bye." With that, I zipped off, getting that wonderous feeling of flying as I raced through the atmosphere at light speed, wind blazing at my side.

Somehow, the sheer trill of the ride assured me that everything was going to be oka - BANG! It all happened so fast I had to freeze for a few seconds to try and piece together what had just happened. My heart was pounding and my breathing... was blocked. Suddenly, I realized that someone was holding me in a tight, boa constrictor like grip with a hand over my mouth and nose, preventing me from inhaling - or even screaming loud enough for anybody to hear. I knew this move, Davenport had taught it to us centuries ago. I also knew how to get out. Acting on instinct, I stomped my foot... to the ground, because whoever it was moved it away. Nobody ever did _that _in the training scenarios. As I mentally searched for another weak point to inflict pain, my mystery captor suddenly started talking.

"Shhh, stop. Settle down. It's me." It was a voice I recognised. Chase. Not deep and threatening like Spike's, but Chase. Still, I was reluctant to jump to any conclusions. I was about to respond, but then with frustration remembered the hand, so I writhed and squirmed as I tried without success to get away.

"Do you trust me?" Chase's voice asked, still light like only he can make it. I paused for a second, considering my response. Slowly, I nodded and he let go.

"I trust you." He said next, referring to me either staying or zooming off without a glance back. For a moment, Option B was looking good, but then I saw his eyes and I knew for sure it was him. I'd stay.

"Okay, fill me in. What's happened since you became you?" I asked.

"I don't know... I just woke up and I was running out of school... and I had this instinct that I had to find you, for some reason it was really important. I don't know. It sounds crazy now. I'm just so... confused. Everything's a blur." Chase rambled, not making any sense. Oh, great. Something must have gone wrong with the memory swap Davenport did while Adam was in the bathroom. Adam! I just then remembered my mission.

"Where's Adam? Do you remember? Is he still by the bakery or did he move in the past few minutes?" I asked him all at once, causing Chase to blink blankly.

"...Bakery?" He repeated, frowning in confusion. Ugh, he didn't know anything.

"Never mind. I'll get Adam and you... just stay here, okay?" I took charge, about to zip off before he suddenly grabbed my arm, holding me back.

"NO! I mean... don't go! You hear me, you hear me..." Chase's frightened voice trailed off as his eyes glazed over as though recalling a past memory.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, truly concerned at the moment for his mental health. It seemed as if the memory experiment had only worked half-way. He didn't respond at first, then jolted out of his brief trance.

"Someone's screaming! We have to help them!" He exclaimed suddenly, and bolted down the sidewalk with a hand still gripping my arm.

"Chase, you're not making any sense!" I said desperately and yanked my arm away, causing him to stop running.

"B - but they need us. They need our help." He insisted, hurt reflected in his amber eyes. "Don't you believe me?"

"Look, you're lost, confused, and there's a possible serial killer dumped into your coconut. We have to get you back home..." I explained, but he cut me off.

"No, I remember something! There's a room under the school... they don't use it, but I do, or _he _does." Chase explained desperately.

"Are you sure?" I asked him. There was the slight possibility that this was true, since it aligned with the other small bits of evidence.

"Of course I am!" He insisted haughtily as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "And I think I even know how to get there, you just have to trust me."

"Trust you?" I repeated doubtfully. Chase nodded with unquestionable certainty. "Okay, fine, but if we find nothing, you go straight back home with me."

"Deal!" He agreed immediately, already making his way to school. I sighed in admiration of his leaderly qualities present even in a situation like this, and with that, I followed close behind, hoping we weren't chasing butterflies here. Pun not intended.

* * *

"I'm fairly sure it's here somewhere... but it could possibly be back there... I'll know it when I see it." Chase droned, eyebrows crinkled in concentration.

"You've been saying that for twenty minutes while we've been running in circles!" I complained.

"I'm sorry, but it's really hard to make out any clear memories. It's all jumbled up in there, like that one time I had piles of beautiful money that you savagely sucked out of my hands. I'm trying to catch them all, but they're moving all at once and every time I think I have a grasp of one, it slips away and I'm left with nothing again." He explained, frustration present in his strained expression. I stopped walking and he did too.

"Just try harder." I pushed.

"I'm _trying_, but Spike's not exactly the forgiving type!" He shot back angrily. I took a deep breath and counted backwards from ten before speaking again.

"Okay, just slow down for a minute, focus on one image, and grab it." I advised calmly. Chase nodded and closed his eyes. A few painstaking seconds later, he snapped them back open, gasping slightly.

"What did you see?" I asked on my toes.

"It wasn't a memory exactly, but for a moment, it was like I was _in_ his mind, feeling his every thought or emotion." He filled me in breathlessly.

"Sounds creepy, but do tell." I pressured.

"Dark. Red. Angry. Screaming. He's trapped somewhere... lonely and neglected. He hates me." I frowned at this bleak abstract representation of what was going on inside Spike's head.

"And he loves you." Chase added hesitantly. "He loves you a lot."

I froze, almost going into shock on the spot. Spike _loved _me? Like a little kid sister? Like one of the guys? Like a best friend? Like a... girlfriend? Was that why he tried to kill me? That guy really needs to read an article about how to send clearer messages. Struggling to compose myself, I turned to Chase again, who was still deep in concentration trying to make sense of the chaos swarming in his head. Spike loved me. Should I be flattered or disturbed? Right now, I was disturbed more than anything. I mean, what would I do if he tried to act on his... _love_? Push him away of course, push him further away into the dark side until he was hopelessly unreachable. That was hardly a plan, but no way was I lip-locking with a murderous psychopath taking form through my brother's body. That was not up for discussion. So, what was the plan exactly...?

"This way." He instructed, yanking me out of my turbulent thoughts, and promenaded down a hallway with purpose.

"How do you even do that?" I asked, perplexed.

"I just... know. He's been this way before." Chase explained bleakly.

"And I'm just supposed to follow blindly?" I scoffed.

"If we ever want to find out what he's hiding." He responded.

Sighing, I followed him blindly down the long, boring hallway to the buried treasure. We turned a few corners and poked our heads into a few empty classrooms, but still, we had nothing and I was seriously doubting his skills. I gave him a chance, so it wouldn't be so uncalled for if I took him home now, right? Just as I was about to announce that his timer was up, Chase brightened suddenly, picking up the pace as he rounded a corner, dashed into the theater arts room and leapt onto the stage. For the first time this hour, his eyes gleamed full of hope.

"This is it!" He exclaimed happily. "It's right here!"

"So... Spike's big secret is that he's going into show business?" I joked.

"_No_." Chase protested haughtily. "There's a trap door on here somewhere for illusion, but it's also the secret entrance to the school's blizzard shelter underground. He goes there every night."

"Wow. Nice job, Sherlock, but there are over a hundred tiles on this stage. How are we supposed to know -," I broke off with a scream as the floor gave way beneath me and I landed with a sickening thud on my butt someplace dark... and dusty. I couldn't for the life of me see anything down here but the soft square of light above me that seemed to be the only opening into this hole. I let out a choking cough after accidentally inhaling a lungful of dust and instinctively started giving myself the Heimlich to get the debris out of my system. Finally, the cough attack subsided and I glanced up again to meet the smirking outline of Chase blocking the single light source.

"Found it." He teased. Not being able to come up with an immediate retort, I childishly stuck out my tongue as I hauled myself to a standing position.

"Just get down here." I grumbled, glad for once that it was too dark for him to see my burning cheeks. Thud. Next, I heard the sound of Chase's groan as he clumsily scrambled to his feet, each struggle amplified on the wooden floor. I felt a cold hand clamp onto my arm and I gasped all girly-girl-esque in spite of myself, causing good-natured laughing to echo through the dank air of... wherever the heck we were.

"I had no idea you were so afraid of the dark." Chase taunted gleefully, clearly enjoying every minute of this.

"Am not." I squeaked in a small voice. Ugh, I wanted to slap myself for being such a baby about this. I mean, believe me when I tell you I've been in a lot worse, so my freaking out over _the dark _makes the whole thing that much more humiliating. Was my pulsing fear that transparent? Suddenly, I coughed up a wad of dust bunnies again, bending over in the attack. When my breathing finally regulated back to normal, I realised that I was wrapped in Chase's arms in the Heimlich position and blushed even redder until I was sure I would look like a tomato if we had any freaking _sight_.

Quickly, I untangled us and tried to remember why we were here, but for some reason everything came up blank. Luckily, Chase seemed to know what he was doing and began walking forward, holding me close so we didn't accidentally split and get lost on our own. I blindly outstretched a flailing arm to find a switch, a door, a wall, _something_, but all I found was floating dust. A thunk sounded just next to me and I buckled like a horse facing down a hissing Copperhead. The hand that held Chase's coiled into a death grip, my feet frozen solid to the flimsy wood supporting us.

"Relax, it's just me. I think I found a wall. We're going to follow it, okay?" Chase consoled me in a soft whisper while gently nudging me forward, defrosting my feet and kicking the snake aside, reassuring me I could do this. I don't know what I'd do without him. I nodded numbly in response, but remembering our current situation, answered verbally.

"Okay." I swallowed, forcing myself to continue.

No way would I be caught dead chickening out of this now, after everything we've been through. I had to keep moving forward and be the hero everyone wants me to be. As we trudged along, I found that even though we were surrounded by a bottomless pitch black, I saw things - quick flashes of people, though I couldn't hear or feel anything other than Chase and I. We were alone, right? To this day, I'll never know whether the hazy images were simply my eyes playing tricks on me because it had run out of reality, or if the illusions were truth. Shadows kept forming into figures reaching out to grab me, but I'd blink and they had disappeared as quickly as they had manifested. Then a hand would come out of nowhere to choke me, and then it too was gone, replaced by another nightmare. I swear, if Spike had chosen right then to emerge, all he'd have to do to kill me would be to whisper 'boo' and my heart would stop. Okay, maybe I am a _tiny _bit afraid of the dark.

"I think I found a switch..." Chase's hushed voice spoke again, followed by the sound of blind hands feeling their way around a jagged foreign object.

Suddenly, a chipper click and blinding light encased me. I hoped I wasn't blind for real, because I just know it would drive me insane. But after a few seconds of searing white, my eyes slowly began to adjust to our surroundings for the first time. Chase and I were facing a black metal door guarded carefully by a four number combination lock. When I turned around, a room the size of a football field met me, so carefully organized I was afraid if I knocked something over, the universe would be thrown out of balance. Thick, furry blankets and jackets were perfectly stacked in a corner of the room and the walls were lined with first aid kits, fire extinguishers, and huge plastic tubs of food rations and water. Everything a school would need to weather a blizzard and then survive a few days of being snowed in. When I glanced over at Chase, his eyes were glowing - calculating - and I knew he simply couldn't resist knowing exactly how many days that would be. Where we live, the winters are harsh, but we'd never been down here before. But what did this have to do with Spike?

"Okay, I'll have a look around and see if I spot anything out of the ordinary, and you find out what's behind that door." I commanded, determined to regain my cool stature after that embarrassing display of emotion that I wished he were capable of forgetting.

"Are you sure you don't want me to hold your hand? You never know what -," Before Chase could finish his tease, I punched him in the arm - hard - cutting him off.

"If anyone finds out about this, you're toast." I threatened, and Chase laughed and held his hands up in surrender, turning his attention to the lock.

While he busied himself with that, I explored the perfectly neat stacks around me only to find more perfectly neat stacks. Shrugging, I was about to turn back, but a small cough stopped me dead. I swiveled in the direction of the faint noise and stealthily crept toward it, fists at the ready. In a flash, I leapt around the corner to face the source. I frowned, uncurling my fists at the sight. One blanket had fallen from the stack and lay in a heap in the corner. Cautiously, I picked it up, revealing what hid under it. A girl slept soundly, her chest rising and falling with every breath. Caitlin. I gasped in shock when I realized her hands were cuffed behind her back with plastic ties and I quickly used some scissors from the first aid kit to cut them off. Suddenly, she stirred and fluttered her eyes open, jumping to her feet in a panic. I stood up with her, trying to calm her down.

"Wait, where am I? And what are you doing here? And what happened?" Caitlin demanded all at once, beginning to hyperventilate.

"Caitlin, calm down. We're going get out of here, okay?" I consoled, desperately trying to come up with an explanation for everything. Darn, if only she could have stayed asleep.

"I was taking the car for a test drive, 'cause I just got my license, and then he was there... I have no idea what happened next." She gasped out between shallow breaths.

"Do you have asthma?" I asked. She nodded, then took out an inhaler from her coat pocket and breathed in the medicine, finally slowing down to normal. She swallowed, taking several deep breaths before trying to talk again.

"Yeah, I don't tell anyone so they don't think I'm a dork, but I didn't think it mattered. I haven't had an asthma attack since I was nine." Caitlin explained.

"Must be all this dust flying around." I suggested, happy that the topic had turned back to her. "Now, let's get out of here."

"I have a better idea." A deep voice growled from behind. Caitlin's face paled to a snow white. I whipped around to see Chase, no _Spike _(only he contains that murderous glint in his dark, dark eyes) blocking the way. In his hand, he held a gun pointed at Caitlin's head.

* * *

**A/N:** **Ha ha, another cliff hanger! I'm sorry, I just love those! Wow, that was by far this story's longest chapter yet, so I hope you got your full enjoyment out of it. As always, site members with their PM turned on get a sneak peek of the next chapter if they review, so don't hesitate to post your thoughts because I value them dearly. Thanks for reading,**

**-StripedFuzzySocks-**


	8. Chapter 7: Chase Is Dead

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lab Rats or any other Disney owned mention, only this FanFic which belongs to ME. © StripedFuzzySocks**

**A/N: Hey, thank you so much, reviewers! Your support means a lot to me; TheRedFlowerOfFire, BTRlover1122, glowing starry eyed, crazyinlovesky15, fanfictionlover, ADayWithoutCHEERIsADayWasted, Guest, AnMaRo412, Lover chocolate and ice-cream, Lady Cougar-Trombone, and hypnotizedlady. So, a couple of you had some questions concerning this story, which I have taken the liberty of posting answers to on my profile (I'll be answering everyone's questions concerning my stories there from now on). Hope they help. (: W****ithout further ado, here is Chapter 7 in the flesh. Buckle up, another chapter awaits...**

* * *

Chapter 7

**Chase Is Dead**

**Caitlin**

_I struggled to contain my excitement so I wouldn't burst and slide off the road or something. I steadied my shaking hands on the wheel, determined not to mess up my first time driving the family car alone. I paid careful attention to the cars surrounding mine, but it was nearly impossible to predict everyone's movements, so the first chance I got, I swerved off the main road to take the scenic route through the trees. I was happy to discover that I had the whole path to myself today, so I allowed some relaxation and turned up the radio, which proudly shared my favorite love song. As I drove along, daydreaming with the peaceful tune in my ears, I failed to spot the person on the road until the last second._

_Responding to sheer instinct, I slammed my foot on the brakes just as the car gave a little bounce as it hit a bump. Terrified that I had run someone over, I quickly yanked out the keys and practically threw the door open as I bolted out. Oh, man... oh, man. _Please don't be a body._ I silently willed. The person, who I now recognized as Chase, staggered to his feet - or foot. The other he held gingerly with a pained expression on his face. Ugh, how I wanted to be invisible right then! I just_ ran over_ my crush!_

_"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry! I should have watched where I was going! Um, can I help some way? Do you need a hospital?" I babbled, nervously twirling a strand of blonde hair._

_"No, I'm fine. I'll walk it off." Chase grunted in a deep gravelly voice._

_"Woah, do you have a cold or something?" I asked concerned. Chase paused for a moment then answered._

_"... Yes. It doesn't matter. I'll be okay." He answered and began to limp away._

_"No, you're not fine! You're limping!" I persisted, stepping in front of him. "Can you at least tell me where you're going so I can drive you there? It's the least I could do." Another thoughtful pause._

_"School. Left a project there." He responded bluntly._

_"Oh, okay. I guess we're going to school, then!" I announced cheerfully as I helped him into the car. As I started the engine and reversed direction, I began to rethink wanting to be invisible. No, I didn't want to miss a single second. Who knows? Maybe this could be great! As it turns out, I was dead wrong. For a few minutes, we rode in an awkward silence until I couldn't take it anymore._

_"Soooooo... how's your day going?" I asked awkwardly. Why must I always say things awkwardly?_

_"Are you trying to make conversation?" Chase accused, looking as if he'd rather jump off a cliff. I sat speechless for a second, unsure how to respond._

_"You really don't have to do that." He insisted. I shrunk in my seat slightly._

_"Alright. Uncomfortable silence it is." I announced and didn't say another word the rest of the trip. I would've loved to be invisible. A few minutes later, I tried to turn on the radio, but one withering look on Chase's part and I turned it off again. I no longer had a crush on him. What did I see in that boy anyways? I was relieved when I finally pulled into the school parking lot and yanked out the keys._

_"We're here. Do you think you can walk home by yourself?" I asked him. _Please say yes. Please say yes._ I begged silently._

_"Can you?" He grinned evilly, which made me very uncomfortable - I mean, even more than before._

_"I'm sorry, what?" I questioned, just he plunged a silver pen into my leg. After a cold pain explosion in my everywhere, I fell asleep._

And that's when I snapped my eyes open. _It was just a dream. _I realized with relief, then realized it wasn't. It was a memory, one I still had to piece together. Frightened and confused, I shot to my feet and spied my strange surroundings. The first thing I noticed was Bree watching me with a worried expression. She was here too?! I had so many questions...

"Where am I? And what are you doing here? And what happened?!" I demanded all at once, feeling myself beginning to hyperventilate.

"Caitlin, calm down. We're going to get out of here, okay?" Bree assured, though her tense demeanor didn't match her smooth tone. And she still hadn't answered any of my questions. My throat began to close up and I struggled to breathe in, gasping and coughing for air I couldn't have. Okay, I had to remember. I... remembered a car... I remembered Chase being a jerk. Chase! I had to tell her!

"I was taking the car for a test drive, 'cause I just got my license, and then he was there... I have no idea what happened next." I gasped out between shallow breaths.

"Do you have asthma?" She asked suddenly. I nodded, then took out the inhaler from my coat pocket and breathed in the medicine, finally slowing down to normal. I swallowed, taking several deep breaths before trying to talk again. That was weird. I haven't had an attack in forever. In fact, I usually don't even carry my inhaler because it looks embarrassing - it was sheer luck I had it on me today at all. Funny how things work out, isn't it?

"Yeah, I don't tell anyone so they don't think I'm a dork, but I didn't think it mattered. I haven't had an asthma attack since I was nine." I explained to Bree, who still seemed wary of me.

"Must be all this dust flying around." She suggested, letting out a sigh of relief that I was okay. "Now, let's get out of here."

"I have a better idea." A deep voice growled from behind. I could have recognised that voice anywhere. Chase with that cold of his. _He did this. _I realized grimly, feeling the color drain from my face. Fear consumed me as my mind jumped from one horrifying conclusion to the next, and I turned to face him. He stood in the way of freedom, but that wasn't what got me the most. It was the shotgun aimed right at me and the defiant smirk behind it.

I held my breath, afraid if I dared to exhale, he'd pull the trigger and it would all be over. Then again, he could simply pull the trigger anyway. I was completely powerless in this situation and scared just shy of death because of it. Chase held the gun steady at me, a calm, pleased smile played upon his face. From the very beginning, when Bree and I had just met in first-period chemistry and became lab partners, I'd always known there was something off about her and her family. I didn't bring it up of course, I was just happy to have a friend as 'quirky' as I was, but I had not anticipated this.

I mean, her brother's a _lunatic_. I didn't know him well, but I'd gotten the impression of a cute, adorkable kind of boy who yes, I had I slight crush on for a short time, the kind of guy who wouldn't hurt a fly. That was not the guy standing in front of us right now. This guy had a murderous glint in his dark amber eyes, clearly enjoying every second of this encounter. I should have seen it coming. All those 'missions' and their 'secret', not to mention the time their house attacked us! It was probably triple security to protect them against the lunatic under their roof. And yet, I was shell-shocked. Bree ever so slightly inched in front of me and I finally allowed myself a tiny puff of air, but remained frozen solid.

"Come out, Caitlin. I'm not going to hurt you." Chase promised, though his maniacal grin convinced me otherwise. Yup, we were both gonna die.

"Drop the gun, Spike." Bree ordered with a tough, steely voice I've never heard her use. Wait, did she just call him Spike? I was too terrified to care.

"You let me worry about the gun, alright?" Chase answered unnaturally gentle. Honestly, how did he switch moods so fast? His 'sweet' was actually creepier than his 'creepy'. "I just want to show you something, and Caitlin needs to be here to see it."

"The only thing I want to see is that gun out of your hands." Bree scoffed. How could she be so brave with a gun to her forehead? I envied her for that.

"But you wanted to know what was behind the door, remember? You wanted to know what I've been working so hard on?" Chase pressed.

"So, what have you been working on?" Bree asked suspiciously. Chase lit up like Christmas and motioned to the other side of the room.

"Why don't you see it for yourself?" He held out a hand for her take, but she refused it and turned the corner to see whatever it was.

I stayed put, wanting to scream for her not to go, but I found myself tongue-tied. Was she seriously going to leave me in this dark corner with him just to find out what his surprise was? With Bree gone, Chase approached me with another plastic tie and a triumphant smile. I tried fighting at first, but needless to say, it was less than successful. I really don't want to go into the painful details, but I was tied down again and seething inside at my situation. Why couldn't I be brave or strong enough to beat him or at least defend myself? Why did Bree leave me behind? I had to know that at least.

"What happened to Bree?" I summoned up the courage to ask Chase, who looked just about to leave himself.

"It's simple, really. She's a hero, and this is what heroes do. Whatever it takes to save the day, even at the cost of others' lives. Just can't help herself, but we're going to fix that. Which reminds me..." With that, he suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me in the direction that she disappeared into. After walking through an open doorway, I saw the 'surprise'.

A jacked up dentist chair stood idly in the center of a plain white room surrounded by old computers and miscellaneous wires strewn on the cold cement floor. Bree was stationed at one of the computers which boldly displayed floods of biological info on some 'Subject B'. As soon as we entered however, she whipped around in the blink of an eye with a glare to match her scowl. Now I was more confused - and frightened - than ever. Before I could stop myself, I asked a simple question that I now wished I could take back.

"What is this place?" I asked.

"Surprise." Just then, he forced me into a wooden chair facing the dentist one, readjusting the plastic ties so they connected to it.

"So, this is your big project? What does all this stuff do?" Bree asked next.

"Get in the chair." Chase ordered, no longer gentle with her.

"No! I want to know, what the heck are you planning?!" She lashed back. Growing impatient, Chase placed the shotgun right into the side of my head forcefully, so I felt the smooth metal ridges pressing into my skin.

"Get in the chair, _please_." He repeated. At this point, I was too scared even to think.

Reluctantly, she sat in his weird dentist chair, not taking her eyes off the gun. Chase relaxed slightly now that things were going his way and removed the pistol from my head, approaching Bree with a content smirk played upon his face. I watched frozen as he gently placed sticker things to her temples despite her dodging and attached some of the stray wires to them. One time, Bree grabbed his wrist and started twisting, but Chase clicked the firearm into place and aimed it at me again and she let go, cold fury present in her tight expression. She never did look at anything besides that stupid gun of his. Not even at me. I just knew if that gun were out of the picture, we could get out, but I wasn't going to sit here mulling over the 'what ifs'. Finally, I couldn't take it.

"Chase, do not do this." I begged. Suddenly, he whirled around outraged and shot a bullet that grazed my hair, causing my heart to stop.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. Bree flinched and I felt myself begin to hyperventilate again, but forced it down for my own sake. Chase took a deep breath of barely supressed rage and spoke again.

"The weak, pathetic creature you refer to as Chase is dead. I'm here now. Forever." Ch - _he _claimed, his cold quiet tone sounding ten times scarier than when he yelled. He calmly left Bree and took a seat in front of the biggest computer and started typing commands. "Spike is here to stay."

The atmosphere was thick with tension, neither of us daring to utter a sound after Ch - _Spike_'s outburst. For several agonizing seconds, it remained silent until he spoke again, now completely cool and collected. "Besides, you don't even know what it is I'm doing." He haughtily pointed out.

"It's not good. I know that." I forced out.

"Oh, but it is good. Bree, you have so much... _potential_. Do you know that? You could do so much if you just let me help you." Spike spoke kind and gentle again as he gazed into her eyes with fondness. Seriously, his mood swings were downright creepy.

"_What?_" Bree asked suspiciously, meeting his soft expression with an untrusting glare.

"When we fought that one time, I saw something in you that reminded me of myself. You are more than they made you, you're better. You're perfect. _Almost _perfect is what I forgot to add. We're here to fix that." Spike said.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Bree countered.

"There's something stopping you from reaching that level of perfection, from letting your true superior being through but today that being will emerge just like fate wanted." Spike promised. Just when I thought he couldn't get crazier. He left the computer and stood beside Bree to recline the chair so she lay completely flat. Then, he showed her a plastic block thing. "Bite down on this. Trust me, you'll want to."

Warily, she did he said and shifted into a more comfortable position while he returned to his tech.

"What are you going to do to her?" I asked, scared for my friend.

"You want to know my plan so bad?! Fine! I'm going to make her just like me! She will evolve. She will ascend. And she will kill you." Spike said.

Bree's eyes flew open in panic as she fought to get out of the chair, but he had her arms pinned, preventing escape. Fear pulsed through my veins, heart pounding a million beats a minute. That wasn't truly possible, was it? It couldn't be! Sheer panic consumed me, but I forced myself to keep talking - maybe it could buy me some time... I don't know. I was desperate here.

"Why?" I asked in a hoarse whisper. It was all I could manage for now.

"Because!" He shouted again. "It's what we need! Even Frankenstein had a bride, and that's what I'm making. We need a ritual - our new life from your death." Spike paused for a moment, gathering his excitement before letting Bree go and returning to the computers. Before she could get away, he pushed a button and she fell back down in the chair, writhing in pain and letting out a muffled scream of agony. I couldn't watch this happen to her. Wincing, I looked away, staring at the blank walls. But nothing could block out the sounds of torture. "Spike, meet Thorn."

* * *

**A/N:** **Ha ha, I know the chapter title was a total tease, but I thought it fit nicely. ****Thanks for reading, everyone. I do think it's worth noting that I had a bit of a hard time writing this chapter, not because of the new and different POV, but because I was terrified of cheesy drama. But do you think I did well? Do tell. And on another note,**** we're reaching the climax of the story pretty soon here, and we all know what happens after the climax - resolution. So, brace yourselves for a few more action packed chapters, a short epilogue, and an end. Thanks again for your continued support, guys. You all rock. And of course, the usual "members with their PM turned on get a sneak peek of the next chapter" bla bla bla. You know the drill. One last thing before I clock out of here, it will be at least a week before I update again because I'll be out of town for a relative's wedding. Then I will be back to writing. R&R,**

**-StripedFuzzySocks-**


	9. Chapter 8: Thorn

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lab Rats or any other Disney owned mention, only this FanFic which belongs to ME. © StripedFuzzySocks**

**A/N: Wow, so many reviews on that chapter you almost made me cry! :) All of you, thanks so much: glowing starry eyed, BTRlover1122, ADayWithoutCHEERIsADayWasted, Lady Cougar-Trombone, crazyinlovesky15, HOAFan097, Lover chocolate and ice-cream, fanfictionlover, AnMaRo412, Cuteskull, braseloverxoxo, and daisycutie. You move this story along. Well, Caitlin's back again to tell her final chapter. So, enjoy...**

* * *

Chapter 8

**Thorn**

**Caitlin**

Being here now, it reminded me so much of the movie _Frankenstein_. The electric zaps, sparks, and moans of agony from a person hooked into the system of technology as though it were merely another spare part. Not to mention the fact that we were trapped underground against our will. Chase - I mean _Spike _- had hit the nail on the head with that analogy. He stood beside Bree, watching her suffer with a loving look that was not unlike pride. The pride of a father watching his child take their first steps. What a creep. And here I was, a sitting duck just waiting for the crocodile's jaws.

There are not words to describe how much I hated the position I was in. To take my mind of the frustration at my powerless role of damsel in distress, I imagined there were a razor blade left carelessly behind me. Yeah, and then while he wasn't looking, I'd cut off the plastic ties and leap in my feet! I'd take his gun and slap him with it, then grab Bree and escape... imagining was almost worse, because it only hurt more knowing none of that would happen. I was going to die today. Just then, it stopped. No more zapping, no more screaming. All was silent. Bree lay completely still, eyes closed. Was she dead?

She couldn't be, but if she was, then I might live... I took it back the moment I thought it. That was an evil thing to wish for. Spike reclined the dentist chair forward so her body slumped to an upright sitting position. Still no movement. Just when I was sure she was gone, her eyes snapped open and she gasped, looking around her in paranoia. The fear quickly turned into a burning rage as she ripped the stickers from her head and jumped to her feet, a deadly gleam in her eyes not present before. I was dead. I was so dead. I froze as she approached me.

"I get it." She whispered with sincere raw emotion, gazing into blank space as she continued to walk forward like a zombie into the light. For a brief moment, I thought Ch - Spike's plan had failed and I was going to live, but that small hope died when Br - Thorn reached down to pick up a steel pipe, wielding it at me like a baseball bat.

"I knew you would." Spike rejoiced, watching her every move with triumph.

"Oh, yeah." She chuckled darkly, swinging the pipe behind her to follow through my head.

Oh, gosh. It was happening. All I could do was squeeze my eyes shut tight so at least I wouldn't have to watch my own destruction. A whoosh of air billowed across my face, followed by the sickening crack of steel on skull. But I felt nothing. Shaking with apprehension, I dared to pry open my eyelids to see what had just happened. Thorn had her back to me, pipe still in hand. Spike lay clutching his bleeding head on the basement floor, reeling in shock. I too was rendered speechless at the scene in front of me.

"Now I understand everything." Thorn claimed with cold contempt.

"Thorn, what did you do?" Spike managed to force out, pure shock present on his face.

"Call me Thorn again and you'll get some more." (I'm not sure what to call her anymore) promised, twirling the pipe in a threatening manner.

"Okay, whoever-you-are, why did you hit me in the head with a pipe?!" Spike shouted, shock giving way to fury.

"It was handy. And you wanted me to kill me her!" Nameless screamed right back. Wait, so she _didn't _want to pound my face in?

"Something must have gone wrong with the operation..." Spike droned, reaching for the keyboard. Before he could do anything, Thorn smashed her pipe into the computer in the blink of an eye so it now looked like a pathetic heap of glass and tech.

"Nothing went wrong with the operation! All of Bree's innermost evil is alive and awake in this head right now!" She shouted, walking towards me again. I still didn't fully trust this new creation, so I found myself inching away in my seat even though it did nothing. She stopped next to me, still glaring at Spike with disgust.

"If you're oh so evil, then prove it. Kill her." Spike persisted. Still clutching his damaged head, he staggered to his feet with a challenging gleam in his eye.

"She's done nothing to deserve this. But you've done everything." Nameless scoffed.

"Oh, come on! She's nobody! Nothing! _We _are more than that. More than human, better than human. This is the way it's supposed to be. Try and keep up!" Spike desperately tried to convince her.

"Oh, I'm way ahead of you. You think we're gods? We're not anything, we're not anybody - just distorted reflections of someone else." Nameless continued, pacing around me. I could practically see her mind racing. "I mean, I get it. There's just so much hate, anger, and dark memories flashing in my head, but I somehow understand that not one of those grudges are mine. I'm nothing."

"So, you're not going to kill me?" I clarified, the feeling of confusion still hanging over me like a rain cloud.

"No... I don't think so." Nameless turned to face me, rage still present in her expression. She looked way unstable. It was just then I noticed Spike coming up from behind her with gun ready to fire away at the both of us.

"Look out!" I screamed. It all happened so fast after that it was almost like a movie. She whipped around faster than my eyes could track and kicked the gun out of his hands, a loud shot causing me to jump in my seat. Luckily, the stray bullet didn't seem to hit anyone and I breathed a big sigh of relief. Nameless snapped just then and threw a punch at Spike, which he proceed to block. Before she could pull her arm away, he grabbed it and threw her into a wall, kicking her square in the gut before she could react. I gasped in spite of myself and squirmed frantically. I still couldn't believe all this was actually happening.

"How's that for evil?" Spike mocked, but his victory line was cut short when she lashed out a hard, unforgiving kick to his jaw. I heard the crack from here.

His head snapped back in an unnatural way and I cringed, only imagining how much that had to hurt. But that wasn't the half of it. Nameless used the opportunity to latch onto his throat with her hands, squeezing tighter and tighter mercilessly. Spike made feeble choking sounds as he struggled to pull her arms away, but she wouldn't budge. My face paled at what she was about to do. No, I had to stop this.

"Stop! Don't do it! You can't kill him!" I pleaded, tugging at my restrains without success.

"Watch me." She growled, not moving an inch. Suddenly, Spike's eyes and expression began to change, grow softer like the boy I used to know. Confusion and fear flashed in his eyes, and he opened his mouth to try to speak, but all he could manage was a weak cough. He was running out of air fast. I didn't even see the cruel person he was a minute ago and something told me I had to save him.

"No, you can't! It's not you! It's who he wants you to be! Do you really want to let him win like that?!" I demanded with newfound energy.

Something seemed to come over Nameless as she stood there deciding. Without warning, she yanked her arm away, allowing Spike to breathe in a huge gulp of air, reeling from shock. But before he could say a word, she grabbed his arm and flipped him onto his chest, placing a foot on his back so he couldn't get up. As he struggled to escape, he changed again, but this time from light to dark. He looked like Spike the killer again. Suddenly (and this is the freaky part), Nameless' pipe seemed to swing out of control, almost against her will, into her head, forcing her backwards and off Spike.

I swear I'm not lying. But how is that even _possible_? Could I have imagined it? It seemed so real... oh, great. Asthma's back. I swallowed hard to force it down. This was no place for an attack. Then Spike sprang (literally _sprang _up like punching dummy) to his feet, facing her in what looked like a professional fighting stance. Were these guys taking kick boxing behind my back? Nameless recovered quickly, now holding her pipe so hard her knuckles turned white.

"You don't know what you're doing! What you're giving up!" Spike shouted enraged. She swung her pipe again, but he jumped backwards, avoiding the blow.

"Right. Why would I want to live in a luxurious mansion when I could live in this dirty hole with _you_?!" She screamed back sarcastically, successfully landing the pipe in his side. He sucked in a pained breath but shrugged it off quick. He retaliated with a forceful kick that sent her right back up against the wall.

"I thought you were different." Spike said low and dark. A computer suddenly flew across the room into Nameless' gut, causing her bend over in agony. "I thought you were special. I was wrong. You are weak... just like Bree."

I blinked and suddenly she was standing right next to him even thought there was no possible way she could have reached him that fast. _What was going on?! _Was I hallucinating? How...? Nameless shoved him into the wall mercilessly, rage flaming in her deep brown eyes.

"I may not know what I am, but at least I know what I'm not. I'm not your girlfriend." With that last stinging blow, she took her pipe and smashed it into his head, this time knocking him to the ground unconscious. I was frozen. Shell-shocked. I no longer knew what to think or feel about any of this. Nameless dropped her pipe to the ground and came back to me, panting from the fight.

"You alright?" She asked, starting to untie me. Her hands were shaking with barely suppressed rage. It was obvious she was having a very difficult time trying to contain all that hate Spike had dumped into her head. I nodded numbly.

"Who are you?" I managed to force out.

"I don't know." She replied, standing up when the ties were cut and I was free. But I made no immediate moves to stand.

"And who is that?" I pressed, voice cracking from the day's emotional turmoil. I didn't know how much more I could take.

"Nobody. I have memories of her, but they're not me. Some maybe... I don't know. What's real?" She asked.

"Bree is real." I said with certainty. Nameless looked down at her hands and traced them across her arms and body sadly.

"This body isn't mine. It belongs to someone else..." She mused guiltily. "But I'm afraid. If I give Bree her life back, where will I go?"

"I don't know." I answered honestly. Nameless shifted uneasily. "Answer this: will you be able to live with yourself knowing someone else had to die so you could stay?" I pressed gently, rising to my feet.

"No. Plus the fact that my entire existence was constructed by a psychopath in a sweater vest is also a bit of a downer." Nameless grinned wryly. "Alright. Let's give this Bree chick her body back. Just don't forget me, okay?"

I laughed good-naturedly for the first time that hour. "Promise."

Just as the word had left my lips, shooting pain exploded in my side and I gripped it tightly, now crying from the pain. Blood blossomed red and bright, pooling out through my fingers and dripping onto the concrete floor. I collapsed to my knees and felt Nameless' hands catch me before I fell further. Pain. Pain. Pain. It was all I knew. My vision was blurred, but I was just able to make out Spike's figure, standing upright with a smoking gun aimed at me. _He did this. _My last real thought besides pain, pain, pain. Suddenly, he moved the gun away from us and instead pressed it against a hard drive.

"Well, which is it, _Thorn_? Caitlin or Bree?" He asked with a crazed, maniacal smile played upon his face.

* * *

**A/N:** **Ta-da. Sorry for the wait... and double sorry for the next. Yeah, I'm going on _another _week long vacation so that's another little over a week wait. Okay, okay. I can see you're mad. Listen, I don't plan these things. I just go on them. As soon as I get back, it'll be writing time. I promise. And by the way, on the next chapter you get to see what happened to Adam... and other stuff. XD As always, members with their PM turned on get a sneak peek of the next chapter when they review, so don't hesitate to post one and tell what you think. Until next time,**

**-StripedFuzzySocks-**


	10. Chapter 9: The Merge

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lab Rats or any other Disney owned mention, only this FanFic which belongs to ME. © StripedFuzzySocks**

**A/N: Surprise! Yeah, I know I said I wouldn't update until a week, but the vacation got spontaneously canceled, so I've written away. A lot of you have wondered what happened to Adam, and this chapter tells all. Big thanks to Chapter 8's reviewers: BTRlover1122, Lady Cougar-Trombone, glowing starry eyed, xxellabearxx, fanfictionlover, crazyinlovesky15, Lover chocolate and ice-cream, Cuteskull, TheRedFlowerOfFire, AnMaRo412, and ADayWithoutCHEERIsADayWasted. Alright, I'll stop babbling and let Adam take it from here...**

* * *

Chapter 9

**The Merge**

**Adam**

My eyes snapped open and I bolted upright, the familiar feeling of confusion coming over me as realized where I was. In the driver's seat of Davenport's car. Why? Then the memories washed back to me like a wave crawling back up to shore. Spike's a killer. He lied. The anger and betrayal I had felt deeply earlier boiled up inside me again stronger than ever. I can't believe I trusted him! I let him play me like a fool, which I was - or at least that's what everyone labeled me as. All brawn, no brains. I always hated it when they called me that, but I never stopped to consider if they might be right.

Maybe they are. I mean, I helped a homicidal maniac escape in the blind hope he was innocent and then had the nerve to be surprised when it turned out I was dead wrong. There is no trace of Chase in Spike, and while I used to think that was a good thing, now it takes on a new, darker meaning. He's out there, loose in the world doing who knows what kind of horrible and it was all my fault. I had to make this right. I had to make he didn't hurt another soul or I don't know what I'd do. I had to step up and become the mission leader to save the mission leader.

I fished around for the car keys, but came up empty-handed. Of course. Spike ain't no Chase, but he was smart enough not to spare a life and then give the life car keys. That would just be too nice. Looks like I'd be walking home. Was this what being mission leader was like? If so, I now understood why Chase was often unbearable. Groaning, I stepped out of the car and slammed the door shut. Getting into the zone, I prepared for the trip back home. I took a longer secluded route home so nobody saw an eighteen-year-old boy jogging at a leisurely pace pushing a car as easily as a shopping cart.

When I finally reached the house, I found it in chaos. Everything was soaking wet, thanks to me, but what really caught my eye were the men in black suiting up for a mission and Davenport sitting numbly on the couch, face a pale white. My heart sank down to my shoes. _What happened here?_ While I stood at the doorway in shock, he just then noticed my appearance and frantically ran up to me. I suddenly found myself forced into a tight embrace and was reeling with awkward confusion. Before I could ask anything, Davenport pulled away, his whole body breathing a big sigh of relief. Again, _what happened here?_

"Oh, thank goodness. W-we thought you were dead." He explained, still panting from relief to see me. I took a nervous step back.

"Why would I be dead? The machines should have told you I was just knocked out. Right?" No reply. Davenport anxiously studied his shoes. "_Right?_"

"Davenport, _why would I be dead_?" I demanded. When he finally looked up, my worst fears were confirmed. Something disastrous happened. Something he wasn't telling me.

"All of your - Chase and Bree's too - stats spiked off the charts an hour ago then everything shut off. And I mean _everything_. Power's out from here to Welkerville. Haven't seen an electric pulse that strong since... no, I've never seen an electric pulse that strong. I mean, your chips hold a lot of power... so, I figured..." Davenport rushed, his body in perpetual motion from anxiety.

"Well... I'm alive." I tried to help, but I'm really not the warm, comforting type. For the first time since I've seen him, Davenport let out a small laugh of amusement. Why did I always seem to have that effect on people?

"Yes, yes, you are, Adam. Which is why you are going to make up for letting Spike roam free." He stated. I lit up at the opportunity fix my own mistake. I mean, that's the whole reason I came back, right?

"What do you want me to do?" I asked, curious.

Davenport had his idea face on, which was enough to make me hesitant, but the feeling increased when he led me over to the kitchen counter where a strange, small blinking contraption sat perfectly poised looking like something out of Star Trek. In other words, it had Davenport written all over it. He gazed at his latest invention lovingly, until he noticed my raised eyebrow, then he immediately pretended to act indifferent to the object. He loved his creations more than he loved his wife... but don't tell Tasha. It's just an observation.

"I call this the Merger." He paused for dramatic effect. "Is it trying too hard? Tell me the truth."

"I like it." Said a voice from behind. I flinched and whipped around to face Leo's laughing grin at my jumpiness. Man, I fell for that every time.

"Uh, so what does it do?" I asked quickly, not giving Leo a chance to gloat. He opened his mouth to explain, but Davenport beat him to it.

"Remember when we tried to restore the lost memories to Chase?" I nodded. That must've been after I left. "Well, that plan crashed and burned, which can only mean one thing - Spike has evolved into a complete and separate persona. So, we have to take things to a more extreme level. This is the device that will merge Chase and Spike's separate minds into one. Everything they think, feel, remember, will be joined or shared into the group mind, and according to theory, Spike's new individuality will be overpowered by Chase's superior mind and dissolve, placing Chase back in control."

"I was gonna say that." Leo muttered, annoyed.

"It's _my _invention." Davenport haughtily pointed out. "Oh, and by the way, it only works if -,"

"You're within fifteen feet of him, so you have to get close." Leo triumphantly cut him off. "The steady -,"

"Hum lets you know it's -," Davenport was stopped again.

"Working." Leo started again. "Chase's response could -,"

"Be unpredictable, so -," Davenport started.

"Be -," Leo continued.

"Careful." Davenport finished. "To turn it on, just -,"

"Press!" Leo shouted quickly.

"This!"

"BUTTON!"

"ON!"

**"TOP!"** They both screamed at once. I blinked.

"Okay... I think I got it." I replied, then frowned. "Wait, could you repeat the instructions just one more time?"

* * *

I pulled up Tasha's car into the school parking lot and yanked out the keys, careful to slip them in my pocket this time. Davenport told me Chase and Bree's GPS implants had showed up here at school before becoming unresponsive, which is strange. Of all the places in the world to set up an evil lair, what made him choose a high school I wonder? Eh, who can fathom the mind of a crazy person? Just as I had set foot outside the car, a gunshot echoed through the atmosphere, followed by a crashing sound. Well, that was never a good sign. Was I too late?

I tightened my grip on the Merger for security and ran after the noise, suddenly wishing I had Chase's talent for pin pointing sounds. Nah, punching a meteor to bits was way more fun. Still... was the crash from the back of the school or the side? I paused for a second to get my bearings when suddenly the bland white door the janitor usually uses to take the trash out burst open, revealing a figure too far away for me to recognise. Quickly, I started running again to catch up with the stranger, who didn't seem to have noticed me yet. Finally, I got to a point where I could see him. Chase, I mean Spike - I'm pretty sure.

In one hand, he held a gun, cocked in a position with his middle finger resting naturally on the trigger. On instinct, I slowed to a speed walk of sorts, reluctant about the weapon in the picture. Okay, I had to do this delicately and fast before anything... happens. It was then that I noticed the other object he carried, some sort of hard drive. I could only imagine what might be on it - death ray blueprints? Whatever it was, it wasn't good, I knew that. I considered sneaking up on him and Merging him that way, but bionic hearing canceled that option. There only one way to do this - like ripping off a band-aid.

Taking a deep breath, I surged forward with my thumb on the button, pressing down when Spike whipped around to face me. _Please work. Please work. _I wished, hoping I wasn't jinxing anything. I wasn't even sure if I believed in that stuff, but the way I saw it, I could use all the help I could get. It didn't seem to do anything and it was just then that I remembered something about being at least fifteen feet away from him. [Censored]. With a wild, predator grin, he aimed the gun at me. [Censored]. I felt silly holding my little Star Trek thingy, so I jammed it in my pocket while I shut my eyes tight, knowing I didn't have a force field and couldn't dodge bullets at light speed. I was just me, about to get shot.

Then, another crash and my eyes flew open. Another figure, who I immediately recognised as Bree, threw the door open on Spike, who forgot me in an instant. They wrestled for a brief moment and I was amused - and impressed - by how well she was holding out, that is until Spike put the gun to use. Managing to rip his arm away, he fired a single shot at her leg, causing her to collapse. He took advantage of the opportunity and started climbing the spiral metal staircase up the side of the school, the one the Science Club uses to study the stars or whatever.

Ironically, Chase had been the one to tell me that. Shocked and alarmed, I raced to Bree's side, but I couldn't reach her in time. Amazingly, she managed to grab onto a railing and haul herself up, limping her way up the stairs after him. Finally, I reached the bottom of the stairs and called out her name. She whipped around, seeming genuinely surprised to see me. A little ticked off, actually.

"Bree, get down here! I can turn him back to normal!" I shouted so she could hear me up there. She shook her head stubbornly and continued after him.

"Bree! Did you hear me?! You're hurt and unarmed! Let me handle this!" I persisted, starting to follow them. Who did she think she was? Finally, I was running by her side. You know, despite the hole in her leg, she was keeping up a pretty good pace - for an injured person, of course. I gently put a hand on her shoulder as a gesture to stop, but she shrugged it off, visibly flinching at my touch. "_Bree. _You're killing me."

"Stop calling me that! And I am _literally _laying down my life for your sister, so if I were you, I'd cut the Prince Charming act. It's not cute." She scoffed.

"What?" I asked, truly lost this time.

Just then, another gun shot rang in the air, leaving a hole in the step we had been on just a second ago. Oh, right. I knew there was something I'd forgotten. Got to Merge Chase and Spike... I really did not have time to argue with my mentally unstable sister, so this interesting little exchange would have to wait. I ran ahead of Bree, who was finally beginning to fall behind as the shot took its toll on her body. We met gazes once, and she solemnly nodded in understanding as she started hobbling back down to ground. Could she read minds now, too? Maybe she simply let the pain win.

Either way, Spike wasn't escaping me this time. I pushed myself higher and higher until the end itself was in sight... I was going to make it! The stairs ended just short of the rooftop, so I had to haul myself up a few feet to land on the roof in a tangled heap of Adam. How's that for D+ imagery? Plus because I'm better. When I managed to pull myself together into a standing position, I saw Spike there, waiting for me just out of range. I approached him cautiously, Merger at the ready, but he made no moves to run or shoot. All he did was toy with the hard drive, and when I got close enough, held the gun to it.

"I'm glad it was you." Spike stated. He didn't sound sad or mournful, or even relieved. Spike was now calm and indifferent, reminding me of the car window. _No. _He was playing me again, and I wasn't falling for it this time. He had no escape. "I don't suppose you want to know what's on this before you blast my brains out?"

"I can find out myself. I don't need you." I lashed back. But I didn't push the button.

"I'll tell you anyway. That girl down there..." He started, motioning to Bree. My grip tightened on the Merger. He better not be threatening her. "She's not your sister. She's Thorn, a failed experiment. This..." He tapped the hard drive with the gun. "Is your sister. The full unabridged Bree Davenport. Thoughts?"

"I don't believe you. You're just trying to trick me so I don't waste you. Well, it's not going to work! This is the end." I promised.

"I know I'm going to die, _idiot_. That's why I'm telling you all this. I thought if I made Bree like me, she would understand and join my side. So, I put her in here and made room for Thorn, who betrayed me. I don't care if I die, I have nothing left. Everything I've done - all the pain and suffering I've caused - it's been in vain. My only regret is that I couldn't cause _more _pain and _more _suffering for the people that deserved it. You. Bree. Thorn. Chase. Davenport. Leo. _All of you_. I may have lied earlier... I do have one thing left. The look on your face when I do this." With that, he shot at the hard drive four times, then after one long look at my crestfallen face, he grinned and shot himself in the gut.

Without thinking, without planning, in other words, true me style, I pressed down on the top button with all my being, watching as the switching Chase/Spike fell to the ground in agony. I couldn't tell which hurt them most, the gunshot wound or their head. They clutched them both, writhing on the roof in agony knowing nothing but pain. I say 'they' because for the first time ever, Spike and Chase were going at it, fighting for control of a dying body to the point where I could no longer tell them apart they switched so fast. Sometimes it seemed as if they were two people at once.

I ran to their side and picked them up, swinging them over my shoulder. No, no. It couldn't end like this. Spike doesn't get to decide for any of us. Chase has to live... he has to. We're a team. I tore down the metal stairs, my shoes making a metallic clang every time it hit the steel steps. Finally, I reached the bottom when Bree (I'm pretty sure) ran towards me, a million questions written all over her face. But I knew what she wanted to ask already.

"I hit him with the Merger, which should be turning him back to normal for good, but Spike shot himself - uh, and Chase. We have to get to the hospital." I explained quickly, already heading towards the car and coming up with an elaborate story for the doctors. But Bree grabbed my arm, holding me back, frustration present in her pained expression.

"That wasn't what I was going to ask you." She said, surprising me. "Is the hard drive okay?"

"No, Spike destroyed it. Why? What was on it?" I asked, getting a really bad feeling. Bree's reaction to this was unreadable.

"That was Bree." She said simply, refusing to look me in the eye. My heart stopped for a second. I almost went into the shock on the spot.

"H - He was telling the truth?" I forced out, swallowing the turbulent emotions taking me over from the inside. Thorn, I guess I should call her, nodded solemnly.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, but I didn't want to hear any of it.

I think she said more, but I had turned away from her, now hustling down the parking lot without a glance back. I had to get to the car... get to the hospital. I wasn't about to lose Chase too. I had nearly reached the car when I heard footsteps coming from behind and I instinctively picked up the pace, managing to plop the still traumatized, muttering, bleeding, and unresponsive Chase/Spike into the passenger seat. When I slammed the door shut and turned around, Thorn stood in the way, fiddling with Bree's necklace that didn't belong to her with Bree's hands that didn't belong to her. I couldn't stand the sight of her walking around in Bree's body like she owns it - which I promise you, she doesn't. I shoved her out of the way and continued to the driver's seat.

"Wait! Adam! I'm sorry, I want to help!" She persisted, following me like a lost puppy as I did everything in my power to ignore her. I sat in the driver's seat and turned the key, bringing it to life.

"Haven't you done enough?" I said sourly, backing up to get the heck out of here.

"I'm sorry about Bree, but it's not my fault. I did everything I could! Can I at least know that your brother's going to be okay?" She pleaded.

"How about you do us all a favor and drop dead!" I shouted, all my pain and grief spilling out in those last words as I drove away, her limping figure shrinking in the rear view mirror. I blocked it out of my mind. My only focus now was Chase. He sat clutching his head next to me, rocking back and forth while muttering to himself. A world of emotions flashed in his glazed over eyes and I could only imagine what he might be going through. When I dared to look closer, I could see tear streaks shining down the side of his paling face. I've never ever ever _ever_ seen this boy cry. Ever. Seeing him now made my heart break. I couldn't lose him too. _Hang on for me, Chase. Hang on._

* * *

**A/N:** **That's a wrap, folks. Yes, I know I have left a _lot _of questions unanswered with this one - one of them being the result of Chapter 8's cliffhanger. But don't worry, all will come clear in due time... all in due time. I would love to know your thoughts, but unfortunately I am not a mind-reader, so please please do review and tell me your reactions. Members with their PM turned on get a sneak peek of the next chapter when they review, so bonus! See you guys next time,**

**-StripedFuzzySocks-**


	11. Chapter 10: Waiting

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lab Rats or any other Disney owned mention, only this FanFic which belongs to ME. © StripedFuzzySocks**

**A/N: Hello again and thank you to my reviewers who inspire me to do what I do; Lady Cougar-Trombone, fanfictionlover, written-at-summer-sunset, Courageous Dreamer, BTRlover1122, ADayWithoutCHEERIsADayWasted, lealpeace, xxellabearxx, Lover chocolate and ice-cream, Cuteskull, crazyinlovesky15, and AnMaRo412. Adam is back again to continue the story, so enjoy. Witty closing sentence goes here.**

* * *

Chapter 10

**Waiting**

**Adam**

I watched as strangers pulled Chase away from me, farther and father down the endless hallway. My muscles screamed in protest, telling me to run after them, but for once, my brain was stronger. Me breaking down like a baby wouldn't solve anything, even if the world was crumbling around me. The ride over had to be the worst part. Chase/Spike sat next to me, but was worlds away, locked in an unreachable battle within himself and there was nothing I could do but drive. He was in so much pain, I could tell, yet I was helpless. That wasn't a feeling I was used to having, and it killed me.

He was going crazy right before my eyes. But as we rode further along, I could see more and more of Chase. Spike had dissolved, just like Davenport had said he would. I was relieved, because even if Chase died, at least he would die as Chase. I tried talking to him, but he shook his head feverishly, staring ahead with dead eyes. He was still far away, trapped in a pool of his own misery. He never made a sound, not even when I was forced to drag him out of the car and onto a gurney. Not even when they took him away.

What was I going to tell Davenport? I spent the next twenty minutes in the ER waiting room thinking this over. Have you ever been in an ER waiting room? It is not roses and daffodils. All around me were people twitching or pacing in anxiety, nerves on end. You could have knocked them over with a feather. Some cried, some prayed, some did both. Many did all of the above. Needless to say, they weren't making me feel much better. Their anxiety was contagious, actually. I found myself pacing back and forth across the room alongside my inmates, knowing if I spent one more minute like this, I would explode and someone would have to take me down with a tranquilizer gun.

Okay, I needed a plan of action. Something to take my mind off exploding. It was time. I had to call Davenport. Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to calm down enough to sit and pull out my phone. _Let's just get this over with. _I pushed myself and tapped the button to start call. Almost as soon as I had pressed the button, he answered, not even giving the phone a chance to ring.

"Yes! It's done, right? You did it? Factory new, not a scratch on you?" Davenport pressured immediately before I could even come up with my response.

"Uh, erm, he, I, we, gun, worked... hospital!" I babbled, feeling rushed. I heard a sigh on the other end. A deep, disappointed sigh that made my heart sink.

"Adam, what happened?" Davenport asked, ever so patient. Here goes nothing...

As I told the long, twisted tale of the bittersweet mission, I anxiously kept my ears open for his reactions, but a dead silence hung still behind my wavering voice. I told him everything - Spike's confession, the wrecked hard drive that contained Bree, the gun shot, the Merge, and even Thorn who's not Bree. When I had finally finished, a short pause crept between us as Davenport got to grips with the situation. I was grateful for the break, because retelling my entire experience forced me to acknowledge that all this was actually happening. And it sucked. It all did. I wanted to go back to being naïve. Everything was simpler and happier that way. When Davenport finally spoke up again, he had that confident authoritative tone to his voice that eased my nerves. We had a plan.

"Wait right there, I'm coming over. Do you have the hard drive with you?" He asked.

"Yes, but it's way wrecked. Are you sure you'll be able to restore it?" I responded, refusing to get my hopes up just yet.

"Adam. I think you've forgotten who you're talking to. Billionaire scientist/inventor? Ring a bell?" Davenport said cockily. I rolled my eyes. "Alright, I'm not promising anything, but I'm fairly certain I can fix it. What did you say Spike did to it again?"

"Shot at it like four times." I guessed. "But you'll have to bring it to the lab. You can't exactly do witchcraft in the waiting room without turning a few heads."

"Right. Speaking of head turning, we need an elaborate, convincing story to smooth this over... for the doctors and the FBI." Davenport cautioned.

"Whoa, the FBI's in on this shadow killer thing too?" I repeated, alarmed.

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, on Spike's last fun run, he took out the entire police squad. What did you think would happen? The government doesn't know about our little operation here, you know that. But they can't." The last part of his message was hushed, and I pressed the phone closer to my face for extra precaution. Darn. I didn't even think about that. Stupid illegal human experimentation laws. So overrated.

"Yeah, I know. I'll think of something." I promised. Laughing rang on the line and I frowned.

"Thanks, buddy. I needed that. _I'll_ come up with something, and in the meantime, you find Thorn." Davenport commanded. I was too surprised at the order to nit-pick over his derogatory remarks, so I let it slide - for now.

"Can't you send one of your security teams after her or something? I want to stay here." I muttered, old anger bubbling back over the grief.

"Adam, don't be like that." He said sternly, in that I'm-the-dad-and-you're-the-kid voice. "You shouldn't have left her there alone, especially wounded. Regardless of who she is, Thorn is a _person_. She didn't ask for Spike to create her, or for her to take form in someone else's body. If we show this girl we're on her side, she may be open to giving it back, assuming I can fix the hard drive."

"And if she doesn't?" I pushed, my grip tightening on the phone. I was struggling to control my emotions so lasers didn't start shooting out of my eyes. That was the _last_ thing we needed.

"Well, as a person with morals, I hope it won't have to come to that." Davenport said bleakly. Good. So Thorn would die no matter what. I should feel guilty thinking that, but I really don't. I only wanted real people in my life. Does that make me a bad person?

"So, Chase is just going to be left alone unprotected? What if the doctors find something?" I pressed, throwing an anxious glance down the hallway.

"Chase will be fine. Like I said, I'll be there in a few minutes to take care of everything. Go find Thorn." Davenport wrapped up the conversation.

I wanted to say more, but he hung up before I could protest further. Groaning, I stuffed the phone in my back pocket and went back to pacing. So, I was stuck getting the body snatcher back, Chase was stuck in surgery, and Bree was stuck in a damaged hard drive. This is not how we used to party. Mentally forcing myself to buck up, I started making my way out the door - until the other one opened. The one where doctors appear to give news. A young, shy nurse came out holding a clipboard, squinting through her glasses.

As though someone had pushed a panic button, every walking time bomb in the waiting room suddenly shot up, on red alert for whatever she might say. The nurse blushed under pressure and fumbled with her papers, while the crowd drew closer, surrounding her with desperate, pleading eyes. Jeez, you'd think she was George Washington risen from the grave himself from the way they acted. I myself was frozen to the spot in the hopes that the news was for me, good or bad. But preferably good. Finally, she spoke up, every person in the room holding their breath. Including me.

"I need to see Adam Davenport for a moment please." She announced. _Yes! Yes! _Disappointed, the crowd scattered back into ragged groups and pacing. Meanwhile, I met her by the door, my hopes rising far too high. But she looked up at me with a grim expression. _Oh, great._ _Here it comes..._

"There is some stray ammunition lodged inside his small intestine. If it moves, it could rip his guts apart and there's no telling what would happen then. He needs to go into surgery... but that's where the problem is." The nurse started. "Your brother has a very rare blood type. O-. We don't have any donor blood of that particular type in this hospital, so it's highly unlikely he will be able to withstand the operation."

"Okay, then just use a different type." I suggested. I really didn't see what the big deal was.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple. If you mismatch blood types, the body can label the donated blood as a foreign enemy and cause the immune system to fight it off, like an infection. This kind of response would be very damaging to the recipient. We can't risk that." She informed me solemnly.

"So, it's over then? He's just going to die?" I translated, getting that stomach drop feeling. But not in the bad way, like when you're falling off a cliff without a bungee chord. This would be the much, much badder way.

"No, he's not." Said a voice from behind. An eerily familiar voice with a bold twist to it that I knew all too well. I turned around to meet the triumphant face of Bree - I mean Thorn. I narrowed my eyes in distrust. Did she think this was funny, messing with me like that? Was this some sick idea of a joke?

"I know where you can get some O- blood." She grinned, looking right at me with Bree's challenging gaze as she jumped right into the conversation. She was testing me. I knew it. With that, she rolled up Bree's sleeve and patted her arm proudly, like she had just won a contest. "Right here."

"Excuse me, who are you?" The nurse asked. Before I could answer 'nobody', Thorn beat me to it.

"A friend." She answered sincerely. Then she looked at me again with those brown eyes I grew up with but no longer knew and leaned towards me expectantly. "Adam, aren't I a friend?"

Now came a moment in time where I had to make a life-altering choice. But there was no question, really. There was only one right thing to do.

"Yes, of course." I agreed. Thorn seemed a bit surprised at first, but then overjoyed at my answer. For a moment, I thought she was going to hug me.

"Well, alrighty then. Let's get you hooked up, friend." And then the nurse spoke, and she seemed to change her mind.

Without another word, Thorn followed the nurse down the hallway. Just before they disappeared into one of the rooms, she mouthed _thank you _to me. _Thank YOU_, I mouthed back, earning myself a genuine smile on her part. Then the door closed behind them and I was alone again. Why was she doing this when I'd been nothing but mean to her? I'd have to ask her that when she got out. A little dazed from the fourth emotional roller coaster I've had that day, I plopped down in one of the waiting room chairs next to a nerve-racked woman stuck in an endless exercise of tapping her foot on the floor. After ten more minutes of tense waiting in the tense waiting room, Thorn came out eating a cookie and holding a mini juice box with the nurse trailing behind. She sank into the chair next to mine absent-mindedly chewing as she stared off into space. It reminded me of Chase just now. It gave me chills.

"We had to take a whole pint for the operation, so she'll be a little faint due to the blood loss. Just make sure she finishes that cookie and juice so she can keep her blood sugar up." The nurse informed me. Just as she was about to leave the room, she suddenly came back to tell Thorn something.

"You may have saved a life today." She told her gratefully, then left the way she came. Thorn smiled, serenely chewing her cookie.

"Why are you doing all this?" I couldn't help but ask. Thorn laughed just like Bree used to.

"Why wouldn't I?" She countered.

"Maybe because I'm a self-conceited jerk. Maybe." I suggested.

"You're not a self-conceited jerk. You just miss your sister, and I remind you too much of her." She said matter-of-factly.

"Did Spike make you insanely smart too?" I asked.

"I like to think that part's all me." Thorn gloated jokingly. Man, I missed Bree. Suddenly, Thorn shifted a little closer so she was leaning on me with her head resting on my shoulder. Such an intimate act surprised me, and I wasn't sure how to respond to it. Bree would go nuts if she knew Thorn made her do that. "Did Spike tell you he wanted to make me his evil girlfriend?"

"I think he may have mentioned it." I said uncomfortably.

"It didn't work. He's got nothing on you." With that, she traced her hand down my arm, lacing her fingers in mine. Okay, that did it. Trying to be as nice as possible, I pried her hand away and gently lifted her arm back to her own chair space.

"Uh, sorry. Thanks but no thanks... it's just _way _too weird." I stumbled. I've never had to do this before. Thorn laughed awkwardly, almost bitterly to herself.

"Yeah, I get it. I'm still her. Still nobody." She muttered darkly.

Then it seemed as though she were transforming into dark like when Chase went all Spike on us. Oh, great. What did I just do? Then Thorn snapped out of it, struggling to remain normal. She looked fine again. Seriously ticked off, but fine. She shifted away from me and leaned back in her own chair, staring at the plain white ceiling. After about a minute of silence, I pulled out my phone as a means of entertainment, but froze at the sound of three words.

"Caitlin is dead." Thorn said suddenly. I stuffed my phone away again and gave her my best deer-in-the-headlights imitation.

"What?" I exclaimed, pure shock showing on my face. Thorn drowsily rolled her head to look at me, raising an eyebrow.

"You knew her?" She asked.

"Well, kinda. She was one of Bree's friends. How do you know? Where you there? What happened?" I bombarded her.

"Spike killed her. After you left, I put her back in her car. Made it look like an accident." Thorn shared. She was barely awake now, thanks to her donation. "The FBI will find it soon and tell everyone, but I just thought you should know the truth."

"Yeah... thanks." I managed. Everything was falling apart around me. My siblings were on the lifeline, Spike murdered a fourth of the student body in cold blood, we've all risked anything and we might fail anyway. Why? I didn't want to just sit around and wait, but what more could I do? Nothing...

"Cookie?" Thorn offered.

* * *

**A/N:** **That's all for today. As always, members with their PM turned on get a sneak peek of the next chapter when they review, so don't hesitate to post your thoughts, and I'm talking to everyone. You guys keep me writing. Yes, this chapter was more of a filler, but it had to be there. Hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. :) R&R,**

**-StripedFuzzySocks-**


	12. Ch11: The Curious Case of Spike & Chase

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lab Rats or any other Disney owned mention, only this FanFic which belongs to ME. © StripedFuzzySocks**

**A/N: Thank you so much, reviewers! You mean a lot to me; BTRlover1122, fanfictionlover, written-at-summer-sunset, Lady Cougar-Trombone, vampiregoth34590, ADayWithoutCHEERIsADayWasted, AnMaRo412, xxellabearxx, Lover chocolate and ice-cream, and Cuteskull. Love you guys. It's been awhile since Chase has had a say, but he's back again. Am I the only one that missed him? Anyhow, I'll let him take it from here...**

* * *

Chapter 11

**The Curious Case of Spike and Chase**

**Chase**

I woke up to white and pain. And pain. This is the second time this has happened to me, the first was all a blur. I could remember some parts of it if I concentrated hard enough, but that just made it hurt more. I knew I was in a hospital because I got shot, but all the true agony came from my head. Did I get shot in the head? No, that was illogical. Headshots were deadly, and I wasn't dead. Right? How did you know if you died? And could dead people still feel pain? _No, dead people don't feel anything, dumb bell. _A sinister voice teased. I cringed and clutched my head, the pain pulsing so hard I wished more than anything for death. Two brains constantly at odds, both fighting for complete control of a single body... that was my life now.

_Oh, and you would know from your vast experience being dead?_ I shot back. It hurt more to communicate with him, and it hurt more to remember, but I was sick of being left in the dark... and so was he. And so we were stuck.

_Give me a gun and you can find out real quick._ Spike jeered. More shooting pain. He felt it too, I could tell. I suddenly had a flash of a gun being fired, a girl collapsing. Bree broke her fall, but looked up at me with dismay. Just as instantly as the memory slipped into my mind, it disappeared, replaced by an image of Adam's crestfallen face. Unexplained joy surged through me, and I realized it wasn't mine, but Spike's. I aimed the gun at myself and pulled the trigger. Pain. Maybe it was the memory's pain or my head, but it was killing me, and nowhere near fast enough.

I wanted to ask Spike _why_, but the answer drifted into me before the words even formed. He was alone. Unwanted. Nobody could hear him, they didn't care to. He wanted to be his own person, the opposite of me so they would notice. Now that he is, he wants me gone. Well, I wanted _him_ gone! It was my body first, and I intended to keep it. _You're not real, Spike. You're a fake! _I screamed at him, feeling his anger coming off in waves of pain. I sucked in a tortured breath, but fought it down. He wasn't going to win this time. _And if you touch my family again, I'll kill you. _I continued, growing in confidence. He knew I was serious. Spike wasn't the only one who knew how to fire a gun.

_Annoyed, I tossed the toxic chemical bin aside with a signature roar and returned to the matter at hand. "Anybody else confused about the don't-punch-me rule?!" I demanded, triumphantly digging my heel deeper into Adam's neck. That was the last time he would pull something like that again. Smirking, I lifted my gaze to meet those of Davenport and Bree, who were holding up meager defenses from behind a lab table. Maybe they would remember me this time... or I'd just have to teach them all over again._

Oh, so _that's _what really happened last Christmas. Man, what was I missing out on? Another painful shock rushed through me with every second of the memory, but I dared to dig deeper. There was so much I didn't know, and that thought scared me. What has Spike been doing all these years? I clutched my head again, harder, when the merciless pain continued. Spike was trying to block me out. But unfortunately for him, that only made me want in more. I kept pushing, and eventually the strain became too much and I was immersed in another lost memory.

_"Whoa! Spike, that was amazing!" _Bree's voice echoed into my mind. With it came an image of her gazing up at me in awe._ "I can't believe you were able to hold off the whole team's offensive strategy single-handedly! I mean, that's Level 8 skill - at least. Usually Adam handles that sort of thing, but he's got nothing on you!"_

_"Beginner's luck." Adam grumbled from across the room, sulkily stuffing the practice mission tools back into the bag. I puffed out my chest proudly, knowing I had seriously showed him up today._

_"Honestly, sometimes I think we should consider keeping you around all the time." Bree winked suggestively. Her voice had a joking tone to it, so she was probably just saying that to get under Adam's skin, but the possibilities behind her statement were too large for me ignore. Was it really possible? I mean, I wanted to stay more than anything, but it seemed like too much to hope for. Chase always took over eventually. And now that the practice mission was complete, it was only a matter of time before I would be forced back to sleep. So, in that case, I had to make this quick._

_"Come on. I have to show you something." I told Bree. She looked at me with surprise, but the clock was ticking. I really didn't have time to chat. Growing impatient, I grabbed her arm and forcibly jerked her into the hallway leading to the elevator out of here. Her eyes widened in astonishment, knowing the one thing we were never, ever under no circumstances were allowed to do might be happening before her very eyes. Hoping to ease the tension, I let go of her and locked the door behind us so Adam couldn't get in. Then I approached her again, but she backed away nervously. Right into a wall. Perfect._

_"Uh, Spike? What exactly are you -," I didn't give her a chance to finish her sentence before swooping in and intercepting her lips with mine. I had never done anything like this before, so I was kind of winging it. I was only one Mississippi into the kiss when Bree shoved me away and slapped me right the face. That I had not anticipated. It was just then that I started to get that familiar sleepy feeling, feel him taking over. No! Not yet! I had to make this right, had to... finally the wave of exhaustion was too great to fight and I gave in to the tide, letting it pull me back into the dark._

_Ew! You kissed my sister?! That's disgusting! Why couldn't you be content with just killing people?! _I accused Spike. The strong mixture of emotions on his end were too tangled to interpret.

_In my defense, I was stuck with very limited screen time back then... that combined with being trapped eight stories underground with only one girl and a lot of teen hormones... you had to see this coming. _Spike replied in a condescending tone.

Man. At least I was able to regain control before he could do anything else. And why didn't Bree mention this little encounter to me? Was she embarrassed? I knew I was. Ugh, I felt like puking just thinking about it. My head was throbbing. I couldn't go on like this much longer. Why did Davenport do this to me? Did he think I wasn't good enough to serve the team on my own? Did he have any idea how hard this would be for _me_?! Did he ever think about anyone but himself?! Another wave of pain washed over me as Spike joined my no longer private hate parade - with another dark memory of his own.

_"Somewhere to be?" Bree's voice came again, this time in an interrogating matter. She looked wild, strong, beautiful and it took all my willpower to stay focused on the mission. I had to think of the big picture here. Once I finished this job, I could do whatever I wanted with her... or anyone for that matter._

_"You let me worry about that, huh? Just get out of the way!" I boomed, remembering again why I had to do this. There was something I loved more than Bree - power. Her eyes fell on me and I relished the will to fight in them. Davenport couldn't have programmed that vicious spirit. I suddenly felt very tired, our ongoing fight taking its toll on me. _No! _I realized with alarm. That wasn't battle scars, that was Chase fighting to get out. Not now! I didn't even do anything tonight but engage in senseless combat! "Running out of time... not enough time..."_

_I suddenly had an idea. A wonderful idea. A wonderful... _awful _idea. Maybe tonight wasn't a waste after all. There was still time. But I had to do this fast, not just because of Chase, but because even if you know in your mind it's the best, most logical thing to do, your heart can still sway you towards love - a powerful, stupid thing. Love was weakness. I couldn't have that now. Not with everything that was at stake. And that settled it for me. Without giving my heart a chance to stop me, I lunged forward and grabbed her arm, flipping her onto her back._

_Blood pooled on the sidewalk as her glass cuts re-opened. With the element of surprise on my side, I was able to pin her into a position beyond escape, only allowing strictly training memories in my head. Keeping the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow in mind, I closed my hands around her neck... tightening... and then I saw her face. I almost let go. I remembered when I was weak, doing what they all wanted and then disappearing when they didn't need me anymore. No matter what wild, fighting spirit they programmed into me, I still remembered her and how I felt. Tonight all of that would go away. Swallowing hard, I forced down the voice inside me screaming to let go. _I'm sorry, Bree. I'm so sorry...

I had no idea. All this time, I had no idea. Running a hand down the side of my face, I felt dried up tear streaks in a line reaching all the way down to the hospital pillow. That was from remembering my lab partner's murder. And Caitlin's. And that kid I always saw in the halls but never had the guts to talk to. I was such an idiot. How could I be so blind about what was going on inside my own head? _Spike, this can't work. We can't do this anymore. _I told him.

_I know. Believe me, if I could be somewhere else, I would be. _Spike responded, surprising me. _But I don't want to die. Do you?_

_It's going to happen eventually. What I don't want is to spend the rest of my life in a screaming match with you. _I replied, meaning every word.

_Then why don't you give up? Leave the body with me. I promise I won't murder people. _Spike swore unconvincingly.

_Why don't I, you ask? Because as much it repulses me, I know you and you can't help yourself. There's only one way for this to go... _I started, another pulse of agony rushing through my brain as I felt Spike's alarm and horror reflected into myself.

_No! No, don't do this, man! There has to be another way! _He desperately pleaded with me. I did my best to shake off his influence.

_Don't forget, you're the one who stuck a bullet in our gut. _I reminded him.

_Yeah, that was before the whole weird Merge thing. Neither of us ever have to sleep now. We can have real power now! _Spike begged.

_I don't want power! I don't want any of this! _I persisted. I winced at the massive effort of talking to him. It hurt almost more than the lost memories. Almost more than I could bear. Suddenly, I heard the door to my - _our _- hospital room creak open, revealing three familiar figures. Hearing sounds happening outside my head were strange for me at first, almost unnatural. But the feeling of sound came back to me again and I adjusted. Davenport, Adam, Bree, and Leo entered hesitantly, unsure who I was and therefore, how to act. I hated it.

_Uh, that's not Bree. _Spike told me awkwardly.

"What?! What you mean by that?" I accidentally said out loud. Every head in the room swiveled to look at me in surprise. Oh, don't mind me! Just the crazy guy talking back to the little voice inside his head. My family gazed at me solemnly, watching me sink into total insanity right before their eyes. I could only wonder what would become of me if the brains of the team went insane. It would be like if Adam got paralyzed or if Bree got polio. We wouldn't be a team. Leo bravely approached me first, looking ready to drag me to the funny farm.

"Chase, are you alright?" He asked, smiling a tight, worried smile.

"I'm fine." I replied. "Get me out of here." Spike answered in his deeper voice right after me. Oh, gosh. I didn't know he could do that! Leo hurriedly stepped back with the others, and I thought he was going to pee his pants. No, this isn't my life now! I was still me! They had to know that!

"Guys, I'm okay. He's not in control. I am." I assured them.

"Hey, I thought we were in a partnership deal now! Bend a little!" Spike protested. Oh, I had had it with him.

"Shut up! You're not helping!" I shouted.

"I'm not trying!" He shouted back, yes, via my voice but deeper. Which did not, surprisingly, convince anyone of my sanity.

"Just let me do this, okay?" I begged, my patience ebbing. I swear, if Spike were in a body of his own, I would've wasted no time in delivering a knuckle sandwich.

"Whatever." He gave in out loud again. Spike winked at maybe Bree and ended with, "Later, hot stuff."

I cringed as my brain imploded, grasping my head and turning over onto my side so they wouldn't have to see me like this. I can't believe he just made me say that. My breath came out in ragged gasps and I made a promise not to cry in front of them. This was just... so... bad. "Advil." I forced out, the pain continuing mercilessly. _Oh, please let this be deadly. Oh, please let this be deadly._ I silently pleaded to whoever might be in charge of this world of ours. If I died, I'd never have to endure this kind of pain ever again. Or compromise with a sociopath. Or remember all the horrific things that sociopath made me do. Suddenly, I felt two pills drop into my open palm and looked up to meet the face of Bree. Whoever owned it at the moment... I wasn't sure.

"Here. You don't know me, but I know you. Or at least I've heard about you. I've only met Spike. Um, Thorn. I guess that's my name. Hi." She smiled uncomfortably. No wonder, considering she'd only met Spike. So, it was true then. What he had been trying to tell me in the car ride here, but I refused to listen. Bree was dead, replaced by a stranger. It was just then that Spike decided to personally send me a memory, one I didn't have to fight for.

_"Stop! Don't do it! You can't kill him!" A distantly familiar voice screamed in desperation. Rough hands were latched onto my throat, wounding tighter and tighter mercilessly as I struggled in vain to get away without success. The best I could manage were a few feeble choking sounds, Thorn holding out steady and indifferent to my weak efforts. It was ironic, actually, how I was going to die. I'd done the same thing to countless others, I knew this move so well. And furthermore, the very girl I killed to be the Bonnie to my Clyde was about to suck the life out of me. How fitting._

_"Watch me." Thorn discarded Caitlin's pleas, not moving an inch. The last thing I saw before the darkness carried me away was her beautiful face._

I snapped back to present, reeling in shock. I remember waking up like that, choking, but honestly, I had discarded it as merely a horrible nightmare. The fact that it was reality... my whole life is a lie. I was seriously losing it, right? I backed up as far I could in the bed just to get away from her.

"You... you tried to kill me before." I croaked, starting to feel light-headed. Thorn's cheeks burned a bright red and she quickly broke eye contact.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I didn't know there was someone else under there." She apologized. I could tell from her voice the apology was sincere and I calmed down slightly, allowing myself to sink back into the white cotton. If anything, I should be more afraid of myself these days. I rolled onto my side, facing away from everyone. I really didn't feel like talking anymore. It just made my head ache trying to compete with Spike. I think they got the message, because next I heard a parade of feet shuffling out of here. Before I heard the door close, one pair stopped. And then Davenport's voice.

"Chase, the doctors predict you'll be in here about a week for recovery." He reported.

"So, I'll get out tomorrow then?" I interpreted, quickly converting normal healing time to bionic healing time. Yeah, just another perk.

"That's what I'm thinking." Davenport replied. We both laughed. They didn't know a thing.

When I heard the door shut behind him, I shifted position to stare at the ceiling. They may have left, but I still wasn't alone. I could still feel Spike's presence tugging at me like an infection you can't get rid of. Would I ever truly be alone again?

_Hate to burst your bubble, but you've never been alone to begin with. And this infection is not going anywhere, so get used to it. _Spike haughtily pointed out.

I didn't respond to his jeering, too exhausted by now to make the effort. Then remembering the pills Thorn had given me, I prepared to pop them in my mouth, but my arm was numb - frozen. It wouldn't move. I couldn't feel it. It was the scariest sensation I'd had yet, which is saying something. Then without warning, my arm flew out to full extension, throwing the pills across the room. Suddenly, I could feel it again and control it, and I hugged my arm to my chest, rocking in my bed. I rolled my wrists, bent my elbow, and played with my fingers, never being so grateful to have control over it. But my pain reliever was gone. I sure as heck didn't do that...

_No, I did. We share the body now, remember? And I really want you to feel this... _Spike said ominously. Oh, gosh. What was he doing?

_I'm giving you all my memories at once. That's what you wanted, right? _He teased. And then the pain explosion.

* * *

**A/N:** **Okay, I admit it. I may have led you guys off in the last chapter when I suggested that Spike might be gone for good. Unfortunately, not the case. Chase and Spike, now merged, can interact, share memories and control of the body, and more. This is going to get interesting. Just so you know, I have four full chapters left... so enjoy the ride. Members with their PM turned on get a sneak peek of the next chapter when they review, so please do. Until next time,**

**-StripedFuzzySocks-**


	13. Chapter 12: To Remember

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lab Rats or any other Disney owned mention, only this FanFic which belongs to ME. © StripedFuzzySocks**

**A/N: Thank you so so much, guys! You know who you are; BTRlover1122, Cuteskull, Courageous Dreamer, crazyinlovesky15, PrincessGoth007, fanfictionlover, ADayWithoutCHEERIsADayWasted, Lady Cougar-Trombone, written-at-summer-sunset, AnMaRo412, Lover chocolate and ice-cream, TheRedFlowerOfFire, xxellabearxx, and peaceout0311. Fair warning, this is Adam's final chapter, so prepare your goodbyes (I hope you guys weren't starting to get sick of him XD). In the meantime...**

* * *

Chapter 12

**To Remember**

**Adam**

"I don't understand it." The doctor repeated to himself, gazing at Chase in wonder.

_Yeah, well that's the whimsy of bionic chips for you. _I thought, forcing myself not to laugh out loud. He had come in this morning to change Chase's bandages only to find that his gaping, bloody gunshot wound was almost completely healed, now just a faint pink cluster of scar tissue. Of course, we still had to come up with some brilliant and totally believable story to explain everything, but right now I was just enjoying the look on his face. He shook his head in disbelief and checked again, Chase remaining completely still. He hadn't spoken a word today.

Yesterday when we all visited him, at first I had been relieved to see the distant, glazed over eyes gone. I thought, at least for a moment, that things would get back to normal. And then Spike opened his mouth. And then Chase. And then Spike. And then Chase again. I don't want to use the word crazy... but from a stranger's point of view, it looked like he was going coo coo for cocoa puffs. On a regular day, I would laughed and laughed, but seeing as how truly serious the situation was, I had stayed quiet. I remember when I was stuck waiting for hours to see him. I had planned out all the things I would say, how I be there for him, make him laugh like I somehow always could, and I didn't even say hi.

But now that we were here again, ready to go home and end the nightmare, Chase was gone. Again. We were too late. What if things never got back to normal and I missed my last chance to say goodbye? Looking at him now, staring into the nothing with vacant eyes once so full of life, I hardly recognized him. I could tell it was bothering the team too, because normally Davenport would have come up with that clever explanation by now. But just as the anxious thought wormed its way into my mind, he spoke up with all the superiority he could muster - which is quite a lot - and smoothed it over.

"Yes, it's a genetic trait - runs in the family. We have great immune systems. So, I believe we're done here?" Davenport dismissed the matter with a flick of his wrist as though he were merely swatting a fly away. The doctor stepped away from Chase, still shaking his head and muttering to himself.

"I've never seen anything like it. Would you say your genes carry some dominant mutation trait? Boy, what I'd give to have a look at his DNA..." He mused, earning a suspicious look from Davenport.

"Oh, it's nothing special. This is actually far more common than you think." Davenport reassured, the doctor raising a disbelieving eyebrow. "Since he has obviously made a full recovery, we will be on our way."

"Hold on a second, Mr. Davenport. There's something else you should know before we release him." The doctor pressed. Davenport waited expectantly.

"I'm sure you are well aware of your son's consecutive migraine problems, ranging from mild to severe outbreaks. Not long after you left last night, he experienced a severe episode, the worst we've seen. We did the best we could to numb the pain and sedate him, but he continued to exhibit disturbing symptoms for several hours before it finally died down. Following the attack, he has since subsided into an emotionally drained, worn out phase much like depression. We think it's best he receives medication for the migraines and that he not attend school for at least a week just to make sure the treatment is doing its job. Oh, and call immediately is he starts having suicidal thoughts." The doctor reported.

For a moment, Davenport's vole of confidence wavered at the unexpected blow and for the first time in the conversation, he found himself stuttering. I was grateful I wasn't tasked with the speaking role, because I myself was rendered speechless. _Was this Spike's doing?_ I couldn't help but wonder. It all led back to Spike. My worried gaze met Thorn's and I could tell she was having the same suspicions. Even if Chase was physically stable, his brain could very well be turned to mush... and then what? Everything was upside down right now.

"Thank you, doctor. We'll take it from here." Davenport said tightly, clearly making a tremendous effort not to break down in public. He still had a reputation to uphold.

"Yes, of course. Just don't forget that medication." He reminded one last time. Davenport nodded curtly and began heading out. Chase did not follow. I approached him cautiously, afraid if I got too close, I'd break him.

"Come on, Chase. We're going now. Don't you want to go back home?" I asked in a sing-song voice like talking to a toddler.

I couldn't help it. He just looked so fragile. I don't know what reaction I had hoped for - happiness, relief... recognition? Whatever it was, it wasn't this. Slowly, he wrenched his frozen gaze from the floor and met my eyes. It wasn't really the fact that he was staring that freaked me out (although that was uncomfortable). It was what I saw. What I saw there sent chills down my spine. Or... what I _didn't_ see, that is. I didn't see light or color. I didn't see expression or identity. I didn't see Chase. I _saw_ an empty shell, a blank canvas. I saw a ghost.

Chase kept acting really strange the whole ride home. In fact, the tension was even worse in the car than it was back in the hospital, which was a new record for our 'different' family. All of us went out of our way to try to get him to speak. Davenport and Tasha kept asking him questions about everything, to which he simply responded with half-hearted shrugs. Leo and I told stupid jokes, while Thorn rambled on about one girly thing after another as a ploy for him to tell her to shut up. Even if a 'shhhh' was all we got, we would be happy with it because at least he cared about _something_, but he remained silent.

Chase kept his empty gaze locked out the window, more specifically on the sky, as we drove along pretending everything was perfectly normal. Or at least as normal as we could ever be. But his catatonic behavior made this an increasingly disappointing and frustrating venture. I just wanted my smart aleck brother with the superiority complex and girl problems back. I wanted him to tell Thorn just once to shut up so he could think. I wanted him laugh and roll his eyes at Leo and I's childish behavior and _over _answer Davenport and Tasha's questions as a thinly veiled showcase of his smarts. I wanted Chase back.

When we finally pulled into the driveway, we spilled out of the car gratefully as if we'd been stuck in there for hours, even though the ride itself was less than fifteen minutes. After some gentle urging, Chase followed us inside, not making eye contact with anyone but his shoes. I hoped those Vans knew how lucky they were. Tasha suddenly had to start lunch at 10 AM. Davenport suddenly had a really, really important project to work on. Leo suddenly had homework to catch up on. Thorn suddenly had stuff. Those cowards. But now that we were alone, I decided to take the opportunity to revive him, if I could. He sat on the couch, staring at the blank wall... well, blankly. I sat down next to him, spurring no kind of reaction.

"Chase, all day, we've been trying to get you to talk, but you keep ignoring everyone. What happened to you?" I begged outright. Chase sank deeper into the couch, muttering something under his breath that I didn't catch.

"The thing is, I don't know if you're in there anymore. All I'm asking for is some kind of sign. _Please_." I continued, despair making my voice crack at the end. We sat there in heavy silence for a few long minutes before I sighed and shook my head. He was gone. I stood up to leave, but froze at the sound I've been waiting for all day. His voice, talking. It didn't even matter what he was saying, just that he was _talking_.

"What's the point?" He whispered, gaze still locked on that wall. I quickly sat again, so overjoyed to hear him talking that I had slow myself down to actually comprehend the message.

"What's the point?" I repeated, confused as to what he would mean by that. "What do mean 'what's the point'?! The point is we're your family and we want to talk to you. The point is this will all blow over soon - Davenport's going to fix everything and we'll all go back to normal, so you should talk."

Chase wrenched his blank gaze away from the wall to me, and I sucked in a breath as I was caught off guard by the sudden recognition of my existence. He gave me a withering look as though it were painfully obvious that I just said something stupid. Great, what was it this time? I didn't catch it, but then again, I usually don't...

"Not... going to blow over. He already... won..." Chase forced out, every world clearly a struggle.

Springing to my feet, I ran to get the medication before the small pains could escalate into an all-out attack. _Of course it would blow over. _I kept telling myself as I got the bottle. _We always go back to normal. Good always wins. _When I offered him the pills, Chase gratefully popped two into his mouth in a flurry of panic, like he was afraid the pills would run away or something. I looked at him sympathetically, but noticing my pity, he glared at me and laid back in a sleeping position. He didn't want sympathy. He wanted Spike gone. We all did.

Before I could say a word (although I can't imagine what I might've said), we heard pounding footsteps tearing down the hallway to the kitchen and I whipped around to meet the out of breath but jubilant Davenport. The old Chase would've leapt to his feet a minute ago, but he scarcely stirred from his position on the couch. After all the depression and bad news we'd endured today, Davenport's upbeat entrance caught me off guard. What could he possibly be so happy about? He dashed into the living room looking more alive than I'd seen him in awhile and came to a clumsy cartoon stop beside me.

"Where's Thorn? Do you know? I have news!" He shared, on the verge of bursting.

"Uh, I think she went upstairs." I guessed. In an instant, he was at the bottom of the stairs. Not Bree speed 'in-an-instant', but, ah, you know what I mean.

"THORN!" Davenport shouted as loud as he could. Chase cringed.

"WHAT?!" She shouted back, her voice muffled from the distance and walls between us.

"Come down! Big news!" He shouted even louder, now on his toes, ready to explode. Chase forced a pillow on his head, squeezing tight to shut us out.

In a flash of color, Thorn was here and oddly exhausted, but relieved. What was she even doing up there anyway? I didn't have much time to wonder before Davenport ushered her onto the couch with us and took a dramatic pause.

"... Any time now." Thorn said, her statement thick with sarcasm and amusement. Finally, he couldn't hold it in any longer.

"I did it! I fixed the hard drive! Bree can be revived!" He announced.

I whooped and high-fived him triumphantly. I knew it! I knew we could get her back! Thorn looked surprised at first, then bit her lip reluctantly. Forgetting for a moment why that might be, I offered her my hand to high-five and she visibly relaxed, slapping it back with the greatest smile I've ever seen. And for once, she actually didn't remind me of Bree. She smiled and laughed differently. I didn't know how exactly... but it was different. I kind of liked it. I looked over to Chase, who through the shadows the pillow cast over him, the subtle lines of a hidden grin formed. The first one in ages.

* * *

Unfortunately, Thorn's death would be painstakingly identical to her birth. She had to get in the chair. The ride to school was silent for so many reasons. We (minus Chase, who refused to leave home for our safety) were over-the-top ecstatic about Bree coming back, but talking about it in front of Thorn was a bridge too far. After all, she was facing certain death for the sake of a stranger with whom she only possessed dark memories of, and for us. The least we could do was not celebrate the occasion in her face. She had insisted I sit next to her for the drive, to which I reluctantly agreed.

Things were still awkward between us since her confession at the hospital, but considering this car ride would conclude her last minutes on earth, I figured hey, what the heck. I've tried to talk to her about it privately, let her down easy, but she never gave me the chance. I think I may have humiliated her inside. In fact, she's kept her distance up until now as if to say 'I got the message, I'll leave you alone'. I should've been glad she was taking it so well, but for some unknown reason, it was killing me. I wish she would be a _little _more upset about it, that's all. I mean, she can't just pretend it never happened! ... Right?

I'm crazy. I listen to myself and I sound crazy, like an angsty character on a drama show. You know what? I don't care! Thorn can do whatever the heck she wants, it's _her_ life. On instinct, I couldn't help but look over at her, gazing at the lowering sun with a misty, faraway look. Ear phones were plugged into place and the volume was loud enough so that some of _If I Die Young _drifted its way into my ears. I cringed. I couldn't imagine what this might be like for her. If one day, I found out that my entire being was a program on a body belonging to another soul... I'm sorry, but that's way out there. I truly can't imagine it.

When I thought more, I realized that Bree didn't even like the Band Perry. With a small laugh to myself, I thought; _she really is different_. Thorn hummed the depressing lyrics while Bree would've sung them all out, ignoring our reactions to her... _unprofessional _voice. Seemingly unable to stop myself, I continued watching her as the minutes dragged, and at one point, she leaned into my shoulder. I stiffened. Thorn stiffened. Suddenly remembering everything, she shot upright again, cheeks burning. Still tuned into the playlist, she mouthed 'accident' and quickly shifted away.

Before I could reassure her it was more than okay, the car came to an abrupt stop and the grim realization set in. Our journey was over. Leo got out first since he was in front, and I motioned for Thorn to go on ahead. I wasn't really thinking about it when it happened, it was just a gesture that came naturally to me. Ladies first. But she shook her head, looking down with an unreadable expression. Then I remembered. And I left. Thorn followed shortly after. As we made our way into the school building, through the so familiar yet now foreign halls, I felt the atmosphere thickening with tension as we drew closer and closer to the end.

Thorn was biting her thumb like I've never seen Bree do. I could imagine Bree twirling her hair and pursing her lip, but Thorn didn't do any of those things. Now that I was looking for them, tiny differences set them apart and I thought to myself; _I might never see her biting her thumb again. Ever. _The thought made me sad for some reason. She knew I was staring at her, but refused to acknowledge it. I mean, why would she? After all, she had some more pressing issues on her mind at the moment than me. Thorn led us all onto the stage and wordlessly motioned at the trapdoor.

One by one, we fell through until it was just me and her left. Just as I was about to jump down, I noticed she was hyperventilating and raised an eyebrow at her. Surely she's been through much worse than a little free fall? But her face was paling, breaking out in cold sweats, and she kept shaking her head. Before I could ask what was wrong, she spoke up.

"I have to go to the bathroom!" Thorn announced, her voice unnaturally loud compared to the heavy silence that had hung over the day like a rain cloud.

"That's alright. I need a few minutes to get this set up anyway. Adam can take you." Davenport responded, sending me a meaningful look. _Don't let her out of your sight. _I nodded discreetly as we walked away.

When we rounded the corner to the bathrooms, I stopped outside, already feeling really uncomfortable with the situation. I mean, it's not like she needed a babysitter at this age, and I was only a year older than her, so I was hardly qualified. I was a spy if anything, and she knew that. Thorn gladly disappeared behind the door and I gladly pulled out my phone as a distraction. But as the minutes ticked by, the feeling of restlessness grew like a festering sore and it got to the point when I just couldn't take it any longer. I'd been waiting almost twenty minutes. What do girls do in there?

Maybe she was trying to escape out a window or something. Or maybe she already _did _escape by zooming past me when I wasn't looking. Either way, I wasn't going to stand there any longer. Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door and called her name, pulsing with apprehension. After a few long seconds of silence, the door swung open to reveal Thorn in the flesh. The short blue dress she had chosen for the end swayed at her knees when she moved and she shyly brushed away a stray lock of brown hair and met my eyes.

"Adam, I wanted to ask you a favor." Thorn said hesitantly. After a moment of reluctance, I nodded and waited for her to speak. "After I'm gone - in the hard drive - I want you to destroy it and the chair completely, so I can't be brought back."

"What? Why?" I asked, surprised by her request.

"Do you know what the world would be like if this technology got out? People trapped in hard drives, getting put into other bodies - we're talking about people walking around who may as well have been murdered. Like your sister. Let's face it: I'm not real. I'm a _program_. I never should have been here in the first place, and you deserve to have Bree back without that fear of her being replaced by some stranger..." I stopped her before she could continue any further.

"You're not a stranger. You saved Chase's life." I responded fiercely.

"And I ended Caitlin's!" She suddenly cried out, breaking the eye contact while she held back tears.

"You told me that Spike..." I started shakily.

"I made a choice. Bree or Caitlin... and I couldn't bargain my way out..." She fiddled with Bree's heart necklace. "Spike put evil in me... and it's so hard to fight sometimes, I just couldn't..." She broke off, and I feared the turbulent emotions were too much, but then she spoke again. "I don't want to come back."

"I'm sorry. I had no idea." I said simply, wishing I could come up something better.

"It's okay. But you'll do that for me, right?" She persisted. I took a reluctant step back. I probably never would have used the hard drive again, but destroying it outright just seemed so... _final_. What if one day we needed her and she wasn't there? What if -

"_Right?_" Thorn pressed desperately. Looking at her now, I realized this was all she really wanted. She wouldn't lie down until it was settled for good.

"Okay. I'll do it for you." I agreed grimly.

Giving me a weak but genuine smile, she gently pulled me into a hug. We stayed there for a few bittersweet moments before she pulled away from me and steadily walked down the hallway, back onto the stage, back into the hidden room, sinking into the chair and out of here. I squeezed her hand as she lay back into its clutches, ready for it to take her. Softly, so no one else could hear, she whispered something to me:

"Will I see my life flash before my eyes?" Thorn hushed, a playful gleam in them.

"Every single moment." I promised softly, and just in time before it started. And she left. I hope I didn't lie to her.

* * *

**A/N:** **Awe, bittersweet ending of the longest chapter YET. Anyways, coming up next, Bree tells her final chapter and the rest is all of our darling Chase. Site members with their PM turned on get a sneak peek of the next chapter when they review, so put the pieces together and you get a win win! And if you would be so kind, it appears my cat has run away again. I'm pretty sure it's hiding behind the 'post review' button...**

**-StripedFuzzySocks-**


	14. Chapter 13: Breaking Points

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lab Rats or any other Disney owned mention, only this FanFic which belongs to ME. © StripedFuzzySocks**

**A/N: Thank you so much, reviewers! More specifically, I would like to thank; Lady Cougar-Trombone, ADayWithoutCHEERIsADayWasted, written-at-summer-sunset, Courageous Dreamer, BTRlover1122, Lover chocolate and ice-cream, VariaGuru, PrincessGoth007, crazyinlovesky15, NiniCere, Cuteskull, xxellabearxx, and AnMaRo412. Guess who's back? Bree! Her memories pick up directly after the events in 'Chase Is Dead', so she'll have to get caught up in this chapter... poor thing. Another fair warning, this is kind of depressing (and really hard for me to write, minor case of writer's block prevented me from updating sooner, but not to fear - it is here), so brace yourself. I'll go ahead and hand her the mic...**

* * *

Chapter 13

**Breaking Points**

**Bree**

I felt myself being lifted into the air, and my eyes snapped open in fear as the memories flowed back. I felt someone's hand closed around mine and on instinct pulled away in disgust, sure it was Spike thinking his sick 'experiment' worked. Speaking of which... he said he was going to make me some kind of crazy killer, but I didn't feel any different. I didn't feel a pulsing desire to choke the life out of someone, I mean. So, what changed? Maybe nothing did. Ha! He couldn't do it after all! I jumped out of the seat, then started panicking because I wasn't strapped down anymore. Oh, Spike probably did that when he thought it worked.

Whipping around to face the computers, I was met with the tensely waiting faces of my family. Oh, gosh. Were they hostages too?! Spike was probably hoping I'd kill all of them as well. How _evil_. Speaking of which, I couldn't see that demon anywhere. Watching the fun from a safe distance, maybe? Oh, how I wanted to pound that face in... huh. Maybe I was a little bit kill crazy after all. As I began to approach them, I noticed something - and froze. Was I wearing my prom dress?! Whoa, how long was I out for? The thought of Spike undressing me while I was hopelessly unconscious was enough to made me shutter...

"A little context here would be nice, guys..." I suggested, really starting to freak out. Then it came to me. Caitlin! Where was she? I did a quick 360 sweep but saw no sign of her anywhere. What Spike do to her?! "Guys! Where's Caitlin? Is she okay?"

All I got in response were pale, downcast looks exchanged and the growing feeling I was missing something big.

Four Days Later

I still felt the stinging numbness seeping through from the cold shock of these past few days. It's like I woke up from a nightmare only to live in one. They told me I was gone for two days, but I'm finding it increasingly hard to believe. In the space I reclined in the chair to save my friend and then came back up to find out she was dead, it was all but an instant. It all happened in an instant. There's no way all this could actually be happening... I caught myself more than once trying to wake up from this nightmare, but yet here I was four days later tugging on my locker handle, trying without success to unjam it.

Finally, I gave up and punched the locker's smooth blue surface, but immediately regretted it as searing pain engulfed my knuckles. Wincing, I pulled it back and tried to rub the pain away with my free hand. _Note to self: Stop punching inanimate objects. _The world suddenly falling heavy on my shoulders, I flopped down on the bench, not caring anymore that I was going to miss chemistry for this. All around me, students were rushing to get to class in the meager two minutes we had before the detention slips came, but what was the point? We were all falling behind on our lessons anyways thanks to _him_.

Too much had happened in the past week to just pretend things were normal. The bell blared through the halls and I found myself left alone with my thoughts. I was someone else. Chase and Spike are one. Davenport took care of the FBI's shadow killer mystery so that Chase was innocent and the mission was complete. Caitlin is dead. Just the sound of her name springing up in the back of my mind revived the flood of tears I had fought so hard to suppress. My throat hurt so much from holding it back that it felt as though I had swallowed a fist of clay.

I knew Spike was evil, but a small part of me never thought he would go that far. No, I didn't want to think about him right then. I wasn't going to give him that satisfaction. She never knew about the bionics, the missions, or the secret life I led and I found myself wondering if things might have been different if she did. I was a perfect stranger to her, and well, everyone on my first day. But none of that seemed to matter to her...

_I was practically on my toes in excitement as I strode down the hallway alongside my fellow students for the first time on my first day in my first real school with real people! Ah, I just wanted to scream out loud! But I couldn't. I had to be cool and sophisticated so everyone would like me. I spent all last night reading up on magazines full of first day tips. The first day is your ticket - your determining of your social class for the rest of the year, so it was extremely important for me to come off with the cool, detached vibe. That way I could rank _at least _moderately cool, if not on the top._

_As I approached my designated locker (according to the schedule anyway), I noticed two girls dressed up for Jersey Shore blocking the way, so buried in conversation they ceased to notice my arrival. As I drew closer, I hoped they would take the hint and move away, but they continued to ignore me. At this point, I practically hovering over them without them noticing. Oh, great. Now I had to speak! I just had to remember what the magazines said - confidence was key. Confidence... confidence..._

_"Um, excuse me." I said with less confidence than I had hoped. One of them glanced my way, but purposely dove back into the conversation just as if I hadn't said a word. "Uh, that's my locker, so if you don't mind..."_

_"No, it's not. So, anyway -," The same girl responded briefly before returning to her 'fascinating' story about some party. I cleared my throat bravely._

_"Yes, it's my locker and you're blocking it." I said more forcefully this time. The blonde girl who answered me before stopped talking for a moment to raise an eyebrow at me. Her brunette friend with the fake tan whispered, "Is she for real?"_

_"Sorry, but this locker has always been empty, so go find another one." The blonde informed me in a condescending tone. While they returned to their conversation yet again, I double checked my schedule to make sure I had it right. Yup - Locker #2009. You know what they say, try, try again._

_"Actually, it is my locker. I'm new. See?" I spoke up once more, this time showing them my schedule. Seriously ticked off now, the blonde squinted at my paper then drew back, rolling her eyes._

_"Look. We always hang out _here_, so you are going to have to pack your bags and -," Just then, another blonde girl ran up to us, bending over dramatically._

_"OMG! Did you guys have the pizza? I had the pizza and it's... it's coming up!" She exclaimed. Then, she lurched forward and made a puking sound, causing them to run away screaming. "Love your purses!" She shouted after them, suddenly standing up straight and brushing herself off with a pleased smile on her face. She didn't throw up. "Your locker awaits, your highness." She announced jokingly._

_"You're not sick?" I commented with awe as I activated the combination, popping the door open._

_"Nope, but I find that even obnoxious self-centered people don't like to be barfed on." She shared with a cocky grin._

_"I would think so." I laughed. The girl stuck out a hand for me to shake._

_"Caitlin Farrell." She introduced herself. I shook it and told her my name._

_"Bree Davenport."_

I was so wrapped up in my own memories of her, I didn't even notice the tall figure striding towards me until he slid into the spot next to mine. Snapping back to reality, I turned to meet Adam, gazing at me solemnly but clearly struggling not to laugh out loud. Annoyed, I rolled my eyes and slouched further into the wall.

"What's so funny?" I demanded.

"Just the irony. This morning, you _promised_ to stop skipping chemistry but I knew all along you would." He laughed. I allowed a small, sideways grin escape.

"I can't help it. You know Caitlin was my lab partner and I just can't stand to see that empty seat..." I admitted, feeling myself start to choke up. With great struggle, I forced the tears away, not wanting to break down in school, even if only Adam was watching.

"You know you're going to have walk in there eventually. You can't avoid it forever." He said gently. I shrugged stubbornly.

"Could if I wanted to..." I mumbled.

"Now would Caitlin want that?" Adam pressed. I sighed in defeat, knowing he'd won with the 'what would she want' card. Still, it didn't seem right to just keep going as if nothing had ever happened. _Everything _happened and now there was this huge hole in my life I couldn't fill. Wait, make that two holes...

"Adam?" I started, but couldn't bring myself to finish.

"Yeah?" He urged me to continue. I swallowed the gaping lump in my throat.

"Where's Chase?" I asked. There was a short pause before he answered me.

"He's... he's at home. Still sick." Adam responded bleakly. No, it's been four days. He should've been okay by now. I needed him.

"Why can't he just come to school? I thought Spike was supposed to be gone by now!" I wined selfishly. I felt guilty saying those things, but I was already depressed as is, and seeing Chase lying around like a broken toy wasn't helping anybody. What torture was going on inside his head? I'm always left wondering.

"Davenport said he would need some time to sort through all the chaos before Spike could truly dissolve. There's no telling how long that might take." Adam said, repeating that same scientific explanation we kept telling each other to pull through. I was so sick of it.

"And if it never ends? What _then_?" I pushed, finally reaching the breaking point. I knew the answer to that.

I looked away as I completely lost it right in front of him, but I no longer cared about keeping it together. My whole life was falling apart and I was just supposed to sit back and let it? Oh, I'd had it, totally had it. No more. I could count on one hand how many times my family had seen me cry. I'd learned to swallow my feelings because they'd needed me to be strong: invincible Bree, out to save the world one mission at a time. In the past ten years of our lives, I don't remember crying once. In the past week... I was running out of fingers to count on.

I didn't even have the strength to run off and hide, so I just sat there sobbing, hands over my face. Then arms were around me, a gentle hand pressing me into a shoulder. Adam. I had completely forgotten about him. For a brief, wild moment, I considered speeding out of sight, but the thought slipped away under the weight of depression and I decided I needed him. I leaned in deeper, feeling slightly less awful.

"It's okay. Everything's going to be okay." Adam mumbled, sounding shaken.

Nothing in this world was okay. Except the fact that I wouldn't have to face it alone. I don't know how long this touching little scene rolled on, but finally my sobs gave way to shuddering breaths, and I was spent. Adam's shirt was soaked. Oh, man. I was _so _embarrassed. I was supposed be invincible Bree (see description above), and here I was breaking down like a baby. How could I boss these guys around if I was so weak? I sniffled and sat back, knowing I must look like a train wreck. He let me go, not saying a word. I gazed down at my shoes, way too embarrassed to meet his eyes.

"Sorry." My voice sounded rusty. Adam shrugged awkwardly.

"Eh, it happens." He said bluntly in response.

"Thanks." I said simply, taking in a long, deep breath. It felt so good to let it out. I admit it: Caitlin is gone, and I'm sad... but I'm not going to let myself stay sad forever. She wouldn't have wanted it that way.

"No prob." Adam replied, clearing his throat. I made an executive decision just then, and I stood up and left.

"Hey, where are you going?" He asked, clearly surprised by my sudden change of mood.

"Chemistry." I smiled a genuine smile for the first time in days and approached my locker once more. It opened right up.

* * *

I walked forward with my head held high up the front porch steps, radiating that confidence I had searched for all those months ago. I don't think I've ever felt this great. I stopped by Caitlin's grave today after school and told her the bionic secret. Was she surprised? Upset? _Really _surprised? Maybe we might've been even better friends because of it. I hope one day I get the chance to ask her, but for now I just wanted to run inside and tell Chase everything. I had a cookie stuffed in my backpack just for him - as it turned out today was my replacement lab partner's birthday. It's funny how these things work out.

Sure, it was a teensy bit squished, but I was sure it'd be okay enough to eat. Once I got inside, I kicked off my shoes and went to find Chase. I headed down the hall and tapped on the guest room door where he spent most of his time these days and waited. No answer. Was he asleep? I pried open the door a bit and peered inside. He got mad when we just barged right in, claiming that he was 'too dangerous' yada yada. It was pitch black inside, the curtains closed and all lights switched off. Okay, that was strange.

"Chase?" I called out, only to be met with the echoes of my own voice.

Maybe he was asleep. I flicked on the light and gasped. The room was demolished, as usual, hence the result of Chase and Spike's loud, scary mind control fights that happened sometimes. They gave me chills, but that wasn't why I gasped. The room was empty. I swear, he never leaves this place, so the fact that he had disappeared after one of his mental episodes was unnerving. Quickly, I dashed to check the guest bathroom next door, but it too was ruined, dark, and empty. My heart started pounding but I forced myself to stay calm. Freaking out never helped anybody.

"Chase!" I called, louder this time so it could be heard throughout the house. "We're home!"

Once again, I heard nothing in response and I decided to go to Plan B. I started heading back to the living room to ask the others if they'd seen him, but stopped dead when I saw the note taped to the bathroom door. A single word was written on the back of the envelope - everyone - in Chase's perfect handwriting. My heart dropped somewhere around my stomach and my skin went cold, as though I'd stepped into a freezer. Slowly, I reached out and cradled the note in my hands, pulling out a plain white sheet of paper.

"Bree! What are you doing? I thought you were going to help me with my homework. I mean, Chase usually does, but..." Leo said, swinging around the door.

"Is he out there with you guys?" I swallowed. Leo frowned in confusion.

"No - he's not in here?"

"_No_. I found this." I showed him the note and his eyes went wide.

"What is it?" He asked, his voice hushed and tense. Breathing shallowly, I unfolded the paper. I didn't want to read it - like if I didn't read it, it wouldn't be real. But I was no coward. Even about this. So, taking a deep breath, I started reading aloud.

_Dear Everyone,_

_I'm so sorry for what I'm about to put you through, but what scared me more in the end was what I would've put you through if it weren't for this. The thing is, everyone is a little bit right. Added up together, it makes this one big right. Bree is right when she says that Spike isn't me - he's a separate human being. Davenport is right when he says that we're tangled into this head together too thickly to break apart. Tasha and Leo are right not to send me to school, but I don't want this trapped life forever. Spike is right when he says this world isn't big enough for the both of us. But most of all, Adam is right when he says that we always get back to normal - move on. What he missed was that you'll have to move on without me._

Leo put a hand over his mouth and I gripped the paper tighter.

_I bet you all wish I was strong enough to beat Spike, but I'm not. He won't stop, he'll never rest, until he has his revenge, and I can't let that happen. The longer I draw this out, the more people end up getting hurt. This is better - trust me. I know it may seem impossible now, but I hope one day you can all forgive me for going through with this. It's because I love you and I could never live with myself should anything happen as a result of backing out of what needs to be done. The more time I had to think, the more sure I got that this was the right thing to do._

_Please don't try to stop me. This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life, and seeing any one of you again will only make it harder. You'd force me to back out and I probably would because I'm already battling Spike and myself to do this. But when I do come back, all the same problems would still be here and then I'd have to leave and we'd go through the whole thing all over again. Please make me only go through this once. I love you guys more than you know. Thanks for making me who I am._

My throat was closing up, my breathing becoming raspy. I could think of lots of times when he'd told me no. Leo grabbed onto my arm to keep from collapsing, but the truth was we both needed support. I was right: reading this meant it was really happening. I can't believe I read it anyway.

_Bye,_

_Chase_

_P.S. - If it's not too much to ask, instead of cloning me, I want Bree to be the mission leader. Please, no clones or robots. But don't you dare forget me._

* * *

**A/N: Ah, so depressing. But you were warned. It's all Chase from here on out, folks. I really don't have too much more to say, except that members with their PM turned on get a sneak peek of the next chapter when they review, but you already knew that. ;) Tell me what you think,**

**-StripedFuzzySocks-**


	15. Chapter 14: Under the Bridge

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lab Rats or any other Disney owned mention, only this FanFic which belongs to ME. © StripedFuzzySocks**

**A/N: Thanks reviewers for reviewing; written-at-summer-sunset, BTRlover1122, Courageous Dreamer, ADayWithoutCHEERIsADayWasted, Lady Cougar-Trombone, Cuteskull, PrincessGoth007, AnMaRo412, Lover chocolate and ice-cream, VariaGuru, SlothKeeper, 10pandasrule10, crazyinlovesky15, Sebman32, Guest, NicoleCartoon4174, and TheRedFlowerOfFire. Ah, I probably gave you guys a heart attack with that preview, but worry not, here it is in full flesh: the mythical Chapter 14! So sorry for the late update, but this took me forever to write, just finding the right words... that, and of course summer activities. And as for Chase...**

* * *

Chapter 14

**Under the Bridge**

**Chase**

I was still hovering over the sheer drop two minutes later, frozen to the bridge's concrete edge. The one thing they always tell you not to do is look down, so I won't. Besides, I was already quaking in my boots as it was without numbers and calculations crammed into my head, telling me the dire facts I didn't want to know. It was so cold that day, I bundled in tighter, half-hoping to see someone waving their arms and running after me but mostly I just wanted to be alone for this. Well, not _completely _alone. With my superior mind, I could more often than not have control over the body, but Spike was still capable of the occasional outburst, with me still awake and aware in the back of the mind (scariest feeling in the world, by the way).

He was just a voice at the moment, but it was taking all the energy and all the mind power I had in me to maintain control over the situation. I'm not going to lie - it's physically exhausting. We've never been at such odds about anything before. _I should do this now before something gets in the way. _I keep telling myself, but yet here I am still hugging the railing, toes just off the edge. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, blocking out everything but my breath. I'll concentrate on a single thought and jump before I get the chance to think. Thinking has always held me back before. I won't let it this time.

In. Out. In. Out. In. I imagine Bree as a mission leader; strong, confident, focused on the mission but maybe thinking about me and remembering in the back of her mind. I smile, hold out my arms... and let myself fall over the edge. Spike was yelling and shouting at me in the background, and then all I could hear was the sound of air rushing past me. I was weightless. Light as a feather. It was so dang peaceful for a second that I felt my smile widen on the way down. But terror quickly gripped my chest when the shock of the first wave of pain hit as my body struck the water. I had just enough time to suck in a pocket of air before I was pulled under, into the freezing depths.

The water was endlessly black around me. It dragged at my clothes, so cold it felt like knives. For some reason, Spike found that simile funny, but I was no longer paying attention to his side of the mind. Acting on pure instinct, I was struggling for survival. In an instant, I had forgotten all about my reasons and the fact that I asked for this fate. I didn't want it anymore. I was drowning! _It's about time! Now get us the heck out of here! _Spike screamed at me in desperation. Above me, the light faded as the water continued to suck me down. I began to churn against the current with frantic arms, fighting for the surface.

_Spike, what do we do?! _I asked him. I searched his mind, but I couldn't seem to find him anywhere. My heart was pounding. Where did he go? I tried to remember something, _any_thing that might be useful, but my mind was blank too. _What did I do? _I blinked, trying to focus on which way the bubbles were drifting, then headed upward with a surge of hope. I tried swimming, I really did, but the whole ocean seemed to be resting on my shoulders, and I was a dead weight, scrabbling helplessly against the water pulling me under still.

Man... I was _so _heavy. My arms are tired. Can't lift it any longer. Do we realize how _heavy _we all are? Everything's so heavy... me, water... water. It makes me tired to carry it all. I wondered if Adam could lift these weights... nah, I didn't think so. I didn't think anyone could lift anything this heavy. The water pulled me down, but I was too tired to fight it. As the noise and chaos faded, I felt numbness seep through my body and I think I was starting to adjust to the cold. I let myself grow still, allowed the water to cradle me. Such quiet. Such calm.

My body swayed so I was turned away from the light, gazing into the black depths. Wait... what was that? That dark smudge down there? It looked like a person, so I blinked twice to make sure. Yes, it was definitely a person. He swished and swayed with the current as I did, and I faintly waved, but I don't think he saw me. His eyes were closed. I frowned, looking closer... and realized he looked just like me. But somehow I knew he wasn't. He was Spike. Wow... I've never seen him before. I outstretched a flailing limb to help, but he was drifting further and further away from me, sinking deeper and deeper.

I sighed, turning back to gaze at the fading light, watching the bubbles swim dutifully up to surface. I should probably get some air later. Oh, but I never wanted to leave... it was so peaceful here, everything was one big right. My lungs were mad at me, but they could wait. I was so tired... I wanted to go to sleep. As I closed my eyes, I felt myself sinking steadily. Out. In. Water tumbled down my throat, filling my aching lungs and filling me all up. I suddenly remembered I couldn't breathe, and that scared me a little, but I knew it was already hopeless. I let it happen, closing my eyes again.

Suddenly, the water started to churn and a flurry of bubbles whirled around me. A flash of brown hair whizzed past, too blurred to make out the face, yet I knew somehow, like I knew with Spike. _Bree. _She was here too. Why? Did she fall in like me? _It's quiet here. _I wanted to reassure her that everything was going to be okay. _Don't fight it. _Suddenly, hands gripped my arms, grabbing hold of me. She was trying to pull me up. How did she get all the way down here anyway? Through the darkening depths, I could see into her eyes. They seemed to be pleading with me not to give up.

I stared right back. _It's hopeless. We're too heavy. _I wanted to tell her, but cold determination remained locked in her gaze. The current was pulling harder now, drawing us down despite Bree's flailing and struggling. The attempts were growing weaker. A small part of me was still aware of these things. Then, her grip on me suddenly tightened and we surged into the light. It all happened so fast I couldn't even comprehend the new atmosphere. A stinging cold surrounded us, engulfing us, and I wasn't sure if I was screaming out loud or in my head.

I could make out blurred colors and shapes moving around me, but the salty sting of the ocean made it hard to see much. And I couldn't pull myself together enough to even pay attention anyways. I heard chaos and noise, someone calling my name in the far distance, but all I could hear clearly was the crashing and tumbling of water. I knew I wasn't there anymore. I remembered _air _and remembered the how it felt... I felt it now. I remembered the sensation of breathing, but did not feel that now. I became aware of a huge weight on my chest. Nothing was there (I don't think), but it felt as though an elephant were sitting on me. I started to feel light-headed... chest hurts... can't breathe...

"CHASE!" Someone screamed from far away... Bree? She said some other stuff too, but I couldn't make it out.

I tried to suck in a breath, but the pain in my chest was terrible, and I couldn't move my muscles. My head fell back and that's the last thing I remember. Or, at least the last thing I remember before everything suddenly opened up. Water flooded out of me and in its place came a lungful of good stuff - the best stuff - that I later found out to be oxygen. I inhaled and exhaled and inhaled and exhaled over and over again, never being so grateful to just exist. I blinked and the blurred image cleared into my sister's face gazing down at me with relief.

"You okay?" She asked me gently, a world of turbulent emotions at war in her expression.

I opened my mouth to answer, but promptly flipped over on my side to violently cough up more water. She cringed next to me, though the attack subsided in all but a minute. I drew in a shallow, shaky breath and slowly returned to a normal pattern. I hauled myself up to a sitting position, for the first time thinking about something other than staying alive. We sat side by side on a grimy strip of grass skirting the steep concrete slope leading to the highway up above. Ahead, the endless expanse of a shimmering pool of blue carried on innocently, forgetting that not a moment ago it had happily tried to take my life.

But can you really blame something for stealing if you gave it to them in the first place? I still felt wary and light-headed from it all, but I managed to turn my attention back to Bree, who for once wasn't getting on to me about ignoring her question. She met my gaze indifferently, and that's when I knew how much I had scared her. Why did I do that? I couldn't even remember now as I looked into her eyes, knowing I was the one to inflict all that pain. But for some reason, I simply couldn't concentrate on any one thing. I didn't know what, but something had changed. Something's... gone.

"_Chase_." Bree pushed again, breaking me out of my thoughts. Her demeanor bore a new fire that compelled me to answer. "Are. You. Okay."

"Yeah." I croaked, stretching out my arms a little. I was awful, cold, and soaking wet all over, but we could save that discussion for later. Bree nodded numbly, going along with the lie for now, but I knew this wouldn't be the end of it. Numbly, she brushed a dripping lock of hair out her face.

"Good." She said simply. I suddenly felt a hand slap me across the face - hard - and I bolted upright, reeling in shock. Bree was furious. So furious I think I flinched. Really, I've never seen her this mad before. Not even when they canceled Victorious, and she was steaming for days on that one. I prepared for another hit, but instead she started screaming at me, water droplets flying off her with every movement.

"Great! I'm so glad you're not dead so I can do _this_!" She slapped me again, but I was too shocked and physically drained to register the second hit before it struck. "What the heck are you doing?! Are you _insane_?!"

I glared back at her. "I couldn't beat Spike, but I couldn't let him..." I broke off, hating how pathetic and weak my voice sounded. I looked down, feeling a thousand years old. I was beyond being upset. What was going to happen now?

"Well, forget it! You don't get off that easy! I am going to kill you if you die on me! _You _die when _we _die and _you_..." She paused in frustration, looking for the right words. "You gotta deal with it!" She screamed, and I couldn't tell whether she was crying or just dripping.

"Spike... had... to go. I was trying to _save_ you. I was trying to save everyone." I said, my voice hard.

"Watch where you're saving, hero! You were _drowning_. You're the mission leader! You're not allowed to do that!" She continued. I found myself tongue-tied, but she was just getting warmed up.

"Did you _hear me_?! Dying is not on the agenda! Not part of the plan! We need you, you stupid, selfish jerk! I need you..." Bree broke off painfully, but swallowed hard to force whatever made her say that down. "That's it."

She drew in a few shuttering breaths, finally starting to run out of steam. Her skin was pale from anger - well, anger and the plunge into the below freezing ocean for me. Neither of us spoke for a few long minutes while we recovered. Her jaw was tight and she refused to meet my eyes again. Even stronger than her anger was fear. I could see it, sense it. We've known each other long enough. I had scared her half to death. I'd scared _everyone_, if they even knew yet. I was supposed to be the solution, not the problem. I wasn't supposed to make things _worse_. I suddenly felt like a huge jerk, like she said.

"I'm sorry." I barely managed. My voice was still rusty and not very leaderly. Heck, I wasn't even remotely like a leader at the moment. More like a basket case. Bree shrugged stubbornly, gaze locked into the ocean's blurred line. I looked away again, trying to think of something - anything - I could say. I coughed to clear my throat and straightened up a bit. She took no notice. "So... you came anyway."

"Yeah. Surprise." She said briefly, leaning back on the concrete slope. I did the same.

"I did specify in the letter not to..." I told her. Even though it was a serious statement, I said it in a joking tone for some reason. I don't know, maybe I was just desperate to see her smile again.

"You didn't think I'd let you off the hook that easy, did you?" Bree challenged. There was no hint of anger or playfulness in her voice, just exhaustion.

I shrugged. Another tense silence crept between us, but I was desperate to fill it. "Um... who else knows?" I asked hoarsely.

"Just Leo. I told him to keep it quiet for the time being, just in case it wasn't too late." She reported. Darkness clouded her gaze as she seemed to be reflecting on the memory. "He looks up to you, you know. The kid's only fourteen. He shouldn't have to go through that. No one should."

My eyes flickered down again as the guilt settled back in, eating at my stomach. I let out a long breath and said something I've only said once before in my entire life. "I don't know what to do anymore. I need to think."

I never would have admitted that to the others. Sure, I could tell them things were getting to me, but that I wasn't sure I could handle it? No way. We were silent for awhile longer after that bombshell. My chest was throbbing where it hit the water. I found myself just waiting for Spike to say something to get on my nerves - or worse, say something out loud. But once again, I got that eerie feeling of emptiness inside and heard nothing out of him. Heart pounding, I searched his side of the brain, but I was wandering in... empty. It was like there was this huge hole where he used to be and I couldn't feel him anymore. He's just... gone? It seemed too good to be true. Suddenly, Bree spoke up again, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Is that why you did it? Because you don't know what to do?" She asked warily. She wasn't used to this weaker side of me. _I _wasn't used to this weaker side of me. I thought about pretending I didn't hear her, but people with ultra-sensitive bionic hearing don't have that excuse. Might as well say it now...

"I'm just... really tired. Spike keeps invading my brain and body for control, and I keep trying to block him out, but he never goes away. We never stop fighting. You know, he kept saying things - death threats - on you guys, and at first I wouldn't listen, but it's becoming harder and harder to stop him from taking over. I had a close call. Last night, Spike jerked me awake. All I remember is being completely numb while he was in control, like I was aware of everything and knew what he was doing, but I couldn't do anything about it. He almost killed Leo.

"I came back just in time, but I got lucky. Leo was thankfully asleep, so he doesn't know, but I do. That's when I realized that he'll _never_ stop, and I wasn't the one getting stronger. All those people he killed with my body - it's sickening. He'll do it again, I know he will, and I'll have to sit back and watch. I was running out of options, I was tired of it all, and I snapped. I never meant for this to happen. I'm just so confused right now. I need to figure this out on my own, okay?" I begged her to understand. She looked down, soaking it in.

"You should have told us. We could have helped -," I cut her off.

"No. Davenport said it himself - once evolved, Spike is unstoppable. There's nothing you could have done." I said gently.

"There's _always_ something you can do." Bree countered fiercely.

I sighed in defeat, knowing she might never understand. I opened my mouth to say something, but before the words came, a loud police siren blared through the atmosphere, ripping through my ear canal and shaking my entire being with its shrill call. Wincing at the noise, I looked up to see a black-and-white parked at the edge of the bridge, blue uniformed figures spilling out of the car and leaning over the edge. _What now? _I groaned inwardly. I waited for Spike to make some sly remark that I was being awarded a badge for goody-two-shoes of the year, but my own thoughts bounced back to me, an empty echo of my voice the only thing to be heard. I got a sudden chill, feeling more alone than ever. _Where are you, Spike?_

* * *

**A/N:** **Okay, I feel I have to post this warning or else karma will give me a spanking: _do not go jumping off bridges and expect to live_. End of story. Hitting the water from a high enough height is equal to jumping off a building and landing on concrete - you die instantly without even a chance to have a dramatic drowning scene. This has been tested and proven on MythBusters (but I figure, hey, the kid's bionic, so Chase gets a freebie). Again, do NOT jump off a bridge! I have spoken! Alright, that matter aside, please review people because members of the site with their PM turned on get a sneak peek of the next (and I should note _last_) chapter. If you don't want a preview, just mention that, but I would love hear some feedback! :) Well, goodbye for now...**

**-StripedFuzzySocks-**


	16. Chapter 15: End of the Gray

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lab Rats or any other Disney owned mention, only this FanFic which belongs to ME. © StripedFuzzySocks**

**A/N: Okay, I can see you're mad. Before you start flaming, the reason for the super long wait on top of the spur-of-the-moment-family-vacation-to-make-up-for- the-canceled-one is writer's block. By far the biggest one yet. Yes, I know, horrible timing considering this story's on its death bed - this stuff just happens sometimes. But I'm back baby! I didn't get a whole lot of reviews on the last chapter :( but I want to give a special thanks to everyone that did. You guys are awesome; BTRlover1122, skeptic skeleton, Perfect Disasters, SlothKeeper, TheRedFlowerOfFire, Lady Cougar-Trombone, Cuteskull, Guest, crazyinlovesky15, and Guest. Oh, and after rereading some past chapters in this story, I discovered something... Adam is way too mature. So, from this point on, Adam will be a more accurate interpretation to who he is on the show and that's that. Well, without further ado...**

* * *

Chapter 15

**End of the Gray**

**Chase**

"So, you mean to tell me that you were just strolling along when you decided to risk your lives for a swim in the below freezing winter ocean _just for fun?_" The officer raised an eyebrow at Bree and I, and I found myself shrinking under his suspicious stare, burying deeper into the heating blanket they had provided us. Now that I thought about it, it was a pretty wimpy excuse, but I, unfortunately, was way too wiped to come up with anything better. As far as they knew, we were just a bunch of dumb kids fooling around, so we might still have a chance to wiggle out of a ticket. But Bree was surprisingly all over it, turning on the charm.

"Yeah, he's _so_ competitive!" She giggled and nudged my ribs, even managing to add in a hair flip. "He dared me to jump in, so I did - and dragged him in too!"

"We were just trying to have some fun. Jeez, lighten up, people." I joined in less convincingly. Bree snuck me a look that clearly read: _let me handle this_.

"Well, you kids are very lucky to be alive. You know you can die from a drop that height?" The officer warned, trying to sound big and scary.

"_What_? You mean, we could have _died_?" Bree repeated, eyes wide in mock fear.

"Yes, you could, little lady. And don't do it again or next time you won't be so lucky. Now, where are your parents?" He asked. Well, that's a funny story...

"Oh, yeah. I already called - they're on their way here right now to pick us up." I pitched in quickly. The officer narrowed his eyes at me, and I could tell that some way or the other, I had gotten on his bad side and he wasn't buying a word I'd said.

"Then when they do get here, it would be my distinct pleasure to fill them in on _every last detail_." He drawled, smirking as he returned to the squad car. Waiting until he was out of ear shot, I turned back towards Bree, who shook her slowly drying head in a teasing manner.

"What part of 'let me handle this' threw you off? Was it the 'me' part?" She pushed.

I shrugged innocently, gaze flickering to the ground in embarrassment. I just hated that she could handle stuff like this better than I could. But hey, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, and lying never was my strong suit. She knew that, I knew that, and yet I wouldn't shut my big mouth. I have a theory it's a leader side effect. But whatever the case, we were caught in this net together with only one way out... a borrowed cell phone to call our parents to pick us up. The very last thing I wanted was for anyone else to see me like this, but I guess I kind of deserved it after everything that's happened. It just really, really stunk.

* * *

Do you ever get that feeling of being trapped in a box closing in on you from all sides and you just have to_ get out_ before you completely blow what's left of your withering mentality out of the water and scream at the sky like the madman you're bound to become should you spend one more awful second in that wretched, suffocating box of doom? No, you probably can't. No one in their right mind would get that feeling while riding home with their "parent". But it looks I wasn't in my right mind anymore. Ever since that upside-down morning when I woke up exhausted, bruised, and still in my clothes, my life hasn't made a lick of sense, but this part right here had to be the worst.

Bree and I argued about it for awhile, but she eventually won out and I was forced to tell Davenport everything. Luckily, Adam, Tasha, and Leo had stayed at home, so the audience for my humiliation was slightly smaller - but no less agonizing. After I finished speaking, a pin drop silence followed. I leaned sideways to look into the rear view mirror, Davenport's tightly wound demeanor causing me to sink in my seat. Bree noticed, as somehow sisters always do, and gave my hand a tight squeeze before pulling back and pretending nothing happened. I would have grinned back, but something told me this wasn't the right moment. A full minute passed. I shifted in my seat.

"Well, I am very, _very _disappointed in you, Chase." Davenport finally started. I was glad he couldn't sense my heart wrenching. "I gave you that second chance and you blew it." He breathed out harshly, feeling like pins and needles on my skin. "Honestly, you're the last person I would expect this from - the last. Adam, sure. Bree, maybe. But _you_?" Davenport sighed that hollow sigh again and shook his head in deep disappointment. Bree crossed her arms, offended. "You weren't supposed to act this way. This is completely unacceptable."

And as if that weren't enough to kill me, Davenport had saved the biggest bomb for last. "Chase, I think Facility X would be a good place for you after all."

"_What_?!" Bree and I protested in unison.

"Wait - why Facility X? What can they do there that we can't here?!" I pressured, horror settling in.

"This isn't a punishment, Chase. They have twice the resources, staff, and abilities that we have and they might even be able to eliminate Spike, since you obviously can't do it yourself as I'd hoped. This isn't forever." He tried and failed to reassure me.

"But I don't want help -," I started frantically.

"You _need _it. We can't just pretend this never happened. It happened and you need help before you spiral out of control, if you haven't already. The fact remains that you need help. _It's okay to ask for help sometimes!_" He said forcibly, pausing to take a breath in between monologues. "It's hard seeing you like this and I'm afraid you're going to try again. I can't let that happen." He finished, voice tough and sure.

"Then we'll lock him in his capsule or shut him off until we fix it! We're not just going to give up!" Bree countered angrily. While I appreciated her sticking up for me, I'll admit that being trapped in my capsule for hours on end or being stuck in a paralyzed body were not up there in my Top 10.

"It's not that simple, Bree. The human mind is a delicate instrument. If we start playing with it without the proper resources, it could backfire, cause permanent damage -," Davenport rambled on until Bree cut in.

"Or solve the problem? Just slice his head open, yank out Spike, then stitch him back up. What's the big deal?" She pressured.

"I really don't want to be sliced up -," I tried to say before Davenport shot back at her.

"The big deal is that Facility X is Chase's best chance for survival. You have to recognize that." He talked over me.

"But you can't just send him away! How long would he be gone?" She barreled through.

"However long it takes." Davenport replied evenly. For the first time in their heated argument, silence fell and the news began to sink in. Once again, I was left alone with thoughts of empty and I remembered that small hope that he may truly be gone for good. It was a stretch, but maybe Davenport would know for sure.

"Um, Davenport?" I finally piped up out of nowhere. He looked a little taken aback as he was ripped away from his thoughts but nodded in acknowledgment.

"What are the chances of Spike just... disappearing into thin air?" I felt silly asking, yet Davenport could tell I was being serious. His brow crinkled in consideration as he put the car in park but kept it locked and running once we were in our driveway. He turned in his seat to look me in the eye.

"What exactly do you mean by 'disappear'?" He asked slowly, carefully. Bree, too, turned to look at me in curiosity.

"As in, I fell in the water and I thought I could see him drowning next to me, and when I got out -," Bree shot me an accusing look. "When _Bree _got me out, he was gone. I can't feel him anymore." I explained. When nobody said anything, I quickly added to save face, "But it's probably just a fluke. I mean, I was _dying_ at the time, so it could easily just have been a hallucination. Right?"

"But you haven't 'felt' Spike at all since then?" Davenport asked. I shook my head sheepishly. He nodded at my response and rubbed his chin in deep thought like the mad scientist he was. As if to add on to that effect, he suddenly brightened and snapped his fingers - a grand idea written in his maniacal expression.

"I have a hunch - it's a long shot, but I'm fairly certain I know what this is!" Davenport exclaimed enthusiastically. This had to be good.

* * *

"Okay, maybe it wasn't that long after all." Davenport said with an amused smile at the page spewing data.

Adam and Leo peered at the hologram from behind in confusion and I could tell this was way over their heads. Even after the third explanation trying to catch Adam up to speed, he still had that blank, misty look usually reserved for math class... and all other classes, actually. Davenport had insisted we include him in this process as we were still part of a team, but to tell you the truth, it was really more so he felt included. Something about self-esteem and mission performance, bla bla bla. Whatever makes him happy. Leo, on the other hand, was able to jump right into the action without that much of a struggle, but the seemingly endless flood of data still got him stumped. Hey, everyone has their limits. Bree was busy playing Angry Birds in the meantime. I waited with frustration in my capsule as they silently soaked in the information without me. Man, I hated being left in the dark. Was this how Adam always felt? Maybe I should be a little nicer to him...

"Mr. Davenport? What's wrong with me?" I finally asked impatiently.

"Well, I have some good news and some bad news. Which do you want to hear first?" He asked. I thought for a second.

"Good news." I answered. I really needed it.

"Well, the good news is that Spike is 100% gone. The bad news is, so are your bionics." He shared. My eyes widened in shock.

"Okay, how did _that _happen?" I asked.

"When you saw him in the water, my best guess would also be a hallucination due to the lack of air. The chips are programmed to automatically deactivate when the host dies to prevent any corrupt data, so when your body shut down, so did your bionics and Spike. I could easily turn them on again, but then we'd be right back to Square One and it would be even harder to get rid of him..." Davenport's voice trailed off, leaving me to connect the dots.

"So, I can either get my bionics back and be forced to compete with Spike over every movement for the rest of my life, or give up my bionics forever." I put it bluntly.

"Looks like it." Davenport's gaze darted down to his shoes, his voice shrill with a lie. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. Was there something he wasn't telling me?

"Is that all?" I pressed, raising an eyebrow.

"Those are the two best options, yes." He replied carefully.

"What other options are there?" I questioned more intensely this time. "I mean, anything has to be better than what I have right now!"

"Trust me, it isn't. This is nothing you want to get into. No, no, no. I can't risk that." Davenport refused fiercely.

"_Please._" I pushed indignantly. "Just tell me."

He sighed, surrendering. "Before the Merge, I had considered the possibilities of surgically removing Spike from the connection paths from the chip to the brain, thus removing him from both systems entirely, but upon further research, I had decided against it because the whole operation was far too risky. Spike's programming was hard-wired into you a long time ago, to the point where if we tried to sever it now, we would have to make our way through nerves, fibers - all sorts of connection paths that have grown around it over time... I'm highly doubtful I could pull it off without causing any long-term damage to your amygdala." Davenport shared grimly. Noticing the blank looks exchanged among Adam, Bree, and Leo, he quickly clarified.

"The amygdala is the emotional center of your brain. It controls all sorts of emotional responses such as aggression, attraction, fear, and pleasure, among others. It is also responsible for the storage of memories associated with emotional events, so needless to say, any damage, no matter how small, could be devastating. Even if Spike's connection is dormant now." He continued, pausing a moment to let this sink in. "So, now you see how stupid and dangerous it would be to play with. I have spoken."

"But if you succeeded in the operation, that would mean I could have bionics _and _Spike gone." I pointed out. Davenport looked a bit taken aback at my response.

"Well, yes, but you're not actually considering -," He stuttered, only to be intercepted by me.

"Yes, I am. This may be our only shot at getting both my bionics and full control. If there's any way we can possibly pull it off, we have to take it. For the team." I preached passionately. I was pleased to see approving nods from everyone, but Davenport's face only paled the more I talked.

"Chase, this is a bad idea. I've examined your brain map and chip design over a hundred times, and I'm telling you there is far too much compromised with this operation. I really don't think I can do this..." Davenport's voice trailed off as he retreated further into his mind, his expression haunted in worry. To tell you the truth, as much as I wanted things back the way they were without Spike getting in the way, his frazzled demeanor was really starting to worry me. He'd done countless amounts of surgical procedures on all three of us, but I'd never seen him so distraught he didn't think he could handle it. This must be more serious than any of us originally thought.

"You don't?" I double checked warily. Davenport sighed and ran a hand through his hair, deep in thought.

"No, I'm not that skilled in the OR. I mean, _maybe _the surgeons at Facility X could pull off a microsurgery, but..." He bit his lip and my heart took an unfortunate leap of hope.

"Let's do it, then! I want my life back, and I don't care what it takes. Spike's got to go." I quickly made up my mind. I've been making an effort not to over-think things anymore. Davenport opened his mouth to argue when Bree suddenly spoke up.

"Sorry, Davenport. I have to agree with Chase on this one. Thanks to a mixture of Spike and his own stupidity, we almost lost him today. If there's a way to get rid of one of those things, we should do it, despite the risks." Bree crossed her arms determinedly and shot me an _I'm still mad at you_ look. When I thought no one was watching, I childishly stuck out my tongue at her. So, I tried to commit suicide _one _time! Jeez, let it go. She huffed and rolled her eyes, bringing an end to the silent conversation.

"Yeah, Big D, have a little faith. Whatever happens, it has to be better than being roomies with a serial killer. And, let's face it, without his bionics, Chase might as well be a tiny doll-bodied shrugger with an inferiority complex." Leo added.

**(A/N: If you watched Victorious, you know what a shrugger is. Ha ha, carry on.)**

"Gee, thanks." I said sarcastically. Couldn't he have just stopped after serial killer?

"What they said." Adam pitched in, not bothering to elaborate.

Davenport's only reply was a look of absolute consternation at the events unfolding. Secretly, I was already scared out of my wits enough at the very possibilities of this operation without my father figure acting as if I were facing certain death... or worse. I swear, if he starts asking for my last will and testament -

"Alright. We can try." He gave in.

* * *

I might be on my way to complete and utter disaster; I might walk out of Facility X as a different person altogether and never be the same, but one good thing does come out of this. Davenport's luxury private jet had free Diet Coke. I popped it open and reclined my chair so I was almost lying down and quickly studied my surroundings to ease the nausea starting to crawl up my throat. Turns out even bionic super humans engineered to save the world can still get motion sickness (though I'm not technically bionic...). I was practically a walking time bomb, able to blow at any given moment. Nope, I couldn't think about that. I had to keep my mind occupied... I better do another study of the plane.

The jet didn't have normal rows of seats, but instead reminded me of a living room straight out of a celebrity house tour (not that I watch those). Around me were pure white couches, easy chairs, and coffee tables - the dictionary picture of luxury. And of course let's not forget the creeps in black tuxedos with dark sunglasses and little earpieces. Davenport had insisted on a handful of Facility X security staff to be present on the plane, despite my protests, just in case Spike resurfaced from a freak accident or something. He _was _at his most powerful, but I still thought the whole thing was completely unnecessary. Then again, this situation has Davenport a little paranoid, so I should've expected something along these lines. Still... they were downright scary.

I seemed to be the only one that noticed, though, seeing as Adam and Leo were captivated by a game of Go Fish on the other side of the jet without a care in the world. This must be like a vacation for them. Meanwhile, Davenport had passed out on one of the couches, snoring softly and drooling in his sleep. Ick. Tasha would have been here if it weren't for her big job promotion that's kept her so occupied these past few months. I didn't blame her - she was doing what she loved and that's all that really mattered. Bree was faced away from everyone, busying herself with catching up on schoolwork and drowning out the world with her iPod. It was her second favorite treasure, right after her phone almighty. She was still lagging behind thanks to Spike. Evil just never rests, does it?

Frowning, I realized that I, too, was uncharacteristically slacking in the school department because of him, causing my blood to boil all over again. It wasn't enough he made me a well-known murderer, but he had to trash my perfect reputation too? That guy just never stops. Suddenly, she turned to look at me with a raised eyebrow and I realized I had been staring. Sheepishly, I waved and shifted position to gaze at the ceiling instead. I really did not need to face the wrath of a highly irrational teenaged girl with unknown hidden abilities at the moment. I felt so vulnerable without bionics. Again, I was reminded of how important this operation was and took a deep breath to calm myself. It didn't work.

"HEY!" I visibly jumped when I heard Spike's voice scream at me. I whipped around to face it with my best deer-in-the-headlights imitation only to be met with Bree doubled over in laughter. I sighed in relief, then scowled in anger, and finally flushed a bright red in embarrassment. Stupid vocal manipulation.

"Ha ha, very funny." I said sourly, my cheeks burning brighter when I heard the echoes of more laughter from where Adam and Leo still sat in their game.

"Sorry, but you were getting _way _too angsty for a moment there. You need to lighten up, kid." Bree justified, barely suppressing more giggles.

"Yeah, we always turn out okay in the end - it's like Newton's laws." Adam reassured very seriously.

"Newton's laws also say an object in motion towards destruction tends to stay in motion towards destruction." I mumbled, the nausea beginning to rise again.

"Unless an external force blocks it!" Leo finished triumphantly, making an exploding motion with his hands. "BOOM! Check and mate!" Okay, even I had to laugh at that.

"See, it's working! I bet you're not even thinking about the surgery right now!" Bree shot a warning glance at Leo, who promptly jumped behind Adam for a shield.

"Leo, you're not supposed to mention -," Bree started in exasperation.

"Guys, it's okay. I know I'm having surgery, I know I probably won't turn out okay, but I'm cool with it. It was my decision in the first place. You don't have to cheer me up." I said gently.

"Actually, we do. As a family, we are obligated to 'cheer you up' under certain conditions and when said conditions are met, are required to provide humor, comfort, etc. until the intended recipient is quote 'okay'. It's a non-optional social convention." Bree explained. I blinked.

"What she said." Adam added through a mouthful of ham-and-cheese sandwich.

"Well, in that case..." Seemingly against my will, I burst out laughing, and soon we were all laughing with no real reason too. Time slipped away, and I just wished it could freeze _here_, right here with all of us together, happy, and untouched by the dangers waiting outside this jet. But this is _my _life we're talking about, remember?

"_Attention, passengers. Please turn off all cell phones and electronic devices as we prepare for landing. Keep your seatbelts securely fastened._" The monotone female voice droned over the speakers. Here we go.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, I have made a decision. Instead of ending it with this chapter, I'm going to cut it off here and finish the story with an epilogue told in Third Person POV. Oh, and instead of giving member reviewers previews, I'll post the full thing either tomorrow or the next day, depending on the amount of overall reviews (sorry, but I didn't get a whole lot on the last chapter and I'm kinda paranoid :/). So, anyways, I'd love to hear some feedback 'cause I missed you guys so much! :) Love ya, see ya, bye for now,**

**-StripedFuzzySocks-**


	17. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lab Rats or any other Disney owned mention, only this FanFic which belongs to ME. © StripedFuzzySocks**

**A/N: Hello, again. Just for the record, this epilogue was supposed to be somewhere around 500 words like the Prologue. This epilogue is around 4,500 words. I got carried away because I didn't want it to end... :/ I have no self control. Your welcome. On a side note, I've been having a huge inner conflict with myself about how to portray Adam, and in the end settled on letting him be cute but not that bright because I had already written him that way and didn't want to keep you guys waiting. Usually, here I thank everyone who dropped a review on the previous chapter, but since this is a super sized Epilogue, I'm doing super sized thank yous. Behold every kind, caring soul who left a review for Gray Hour (no repeats);**

**skeptic skeleton, Emiii, fanfictionlover, Lady Cougar-Trombone, evarock, BTRlover1122, Guest (I'm thanking every anonymous guest here), ADayWithoutCHEERIsADayWasted, Butterflygirl060, Cuteskull, AnMaRo412, TheRedFlowerOfFire, crazyinlovesky15, 10pandasrule10, Lover chocolate and ice-cream, hypnotizedlady, Courageous Dreamer, braseloverxoxo, daisycutie, xxellabearxx, lealpeace, vampiregoth34590, PrincessGoth007, peaceout0311, VariaGuru, NiniCere, SlothKeeper, Sebman32, NicoleCartoon4174, Perfect Disasters, and Marian9**

**All of you are awesome! I'll stop bugging you now. (:**

* * *

Epilogue

**Connections**

**Third Person**

Two days. A full forty-eight hours had passed and Chase still hadn't left Facility X's incredibly sterile (and notably round) capsule where thirty-six hours ago they had ended the operation. The doctors told them over and over that this was all to be expected and not to worry... but how could they not? Bree went over this in her head as she paced the bland, colorless halls of Facility X, suddenly grateful she had managed to escape from here all those months ago. Isolated, blank, crawling with official looking people and doctors alike... she felt like she was trapped in a mental ward, and it ironically was making her go nuts.

_He should be out by now... _Bree kept thinking. Exactly how experienced were these doctors, anyway? They should be in school right now, and Bree was pretty sure that should worry her, but the tedious reminder would quickly float away to be replaced by thoughts of Chase. Her little brother was practically _comatose_ and not a soul was lifting a finger. Growling under her breath, Bree gasped when she suddenly rammed into a frantic male nurse. She opened her mouth to say 'sorry' on reflex, but the frazzled nurse had already barreled past her into Chase's room. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. What was going on in there?

Mr. Davenport bolted out of Chase's room, feeling light with energy coursing through him. He hadn't felt this energized in years. His heart was beating in a frenzy, and the first thing he laid eyes on when he emerged was Bree's panicked figure. _She doesn't know yet. _Davenport remembered in a flash, and ran up to tell her the news. He had truly been hoping he could be the one to tell her before anybody else. First, he had to stop and catch his breath. Wow, sometimes he had to remember he was in his late thirties, not his late teens. He still had -

"Davenport!" Bree practically screamed at him, shaking his shoulders. "What's going on in there?! Is he okay?!"

"He's..." Davenport drew in a long shaky breath, and it took all of Bree's willpower not to beat the answer out of him. "A - awake. He's awake!"

The news spread like a wildfire after that, and Tasha even managed to worm her way out of work just to be there. She already felt horrible she couldn't make it for support in the beginning, but no way was she going to abandon her step-son now when he waking from a _coma_. Two very stubborn security guards had insisted on escorting her to the waiting room, where she was immediately bombarded by her 90-miles-an-hour family - literally. All of them were in perpetual motion from the swirl of anxiety and excitement, to the point where if they had been forced to stay put for more then a minute longer, Tasha was sure they would've exploded. Wait... bionic kids couldn't actually do that, could they? She supposed it didn't matter now, since they were already being ushered into a bright room with wary looking guards at every corner, guarding Chase in a tube. Like some kind of obsessive collector's rare Ken doll. Just an observation.

Chase squinted at the incredibly over-the-top florescent lights, shielding his eyes with an arm to block the glare. He could sense people rushing around him in a flurry, the heightened sounds of their voices raging in his ears, their shoes squeaking to no end against a freshly waxed linoleum floor. Did these guys have any concept of loud? Surely Davenport must have briefed them about super senses and all their wonderful ups and downs. But Chase supposed even normal people should be appalled by this frenzy of light and sound... it was just way too much. He had to get out of here, get back to the lab. He unconsciously groaned, sending off a whole new wave of sensory chaos. Yup, they had no freaking concept.

"Chase! Chase, can you hear me?" Came Davenport's hopeful voice. Chase decided not to answer to anyone unless they would be quiet. "It's me, Davenport!"

"No kidding." He groaned sarcastically. Okay, that was just way too good to pass up. I mean, _he-llo_. His creator's voice was permanently burned into his database. How could he _not _recognize it?

"Can you step out of the capsule? Do you have the energy?" Davenport mercilessly continued. Chase coughed and stretched, his muscles screaming in protest. He was definitely going to need some debriefing on all this, because he couldn't put any of the pieces together. What happened? He felt like he got hit by a truck.

"I dunno." Chase slurred drowsily. "Hurts."

"Look, I hate to be pushy, but can you hurry up and heal already? We've been here for two days!" That was Adam, ever the sympathizer.

A machine started beeping frantically, attracting the attention of a young nurse, her blonde ponytail bobbing as she weaved her way through the excitement to see what this was all about. She frowned and flagged the Davenports over. Reluctantly, they left their newly awakened son alone to hear what she had to say.

"Chase is doing fine - healing at anticipated progress, but he's having a sensory overload. Still getting used to his bionics. We're going to have to move him to the Bottom Floor." She shared a knowing look with Mr. Davenport, and he immediately understood what she was trying to say.

"Come on, kids! Let's go get some lunch at the cafeteria. He'll be here when we get back, and probably wanting something other a feeding tube to eat." He assured them.

They reluctantly followed their "dad's" lead and left the operating floor for the cafeteria. Bree was elated. She just couldn't wait see him again and have him interacting (talking to someone in a coma is a lot like talking to yourself... awkward). Although there was that tiny, nagging feeling in her gut that he may not be the same, like Davenport warned before. What if - no, she refused to go over the 'what ifs'. They only made things harder. Heck, they nearly killed her the two days she's been here. Bree wasn't going to do that to herself, nope. Chase was going to be perfectly fine... you know, if he didn't have a stroke. Or a heart attack. Or they made him forget who was. Bree gasped. Or what if -

Leo knew it was rude to stare, but Bree's eyes were getting wider and wider as she stared off into space daydreaming. If he wasn't such a gentleman, he would have whipped out his phone and snapped a picture of her gazing into space with that undisguised expression of horror, frozen in mid-chew with all that ketchup lining her mouth. _Oh, think of the blackmail!_ His bad conscience screamed. No, Leo was better than that... ha! No, he wasn't! He dug his phone out of his back pocket and zoomed into focus...

"Excuse me?" An unfamiliar man asked from behind.

Leo screamed at the top of his lungs and dropped his phone in his water. It zapped blue once then died a horrific death. His _phone_. His brand spanking new iPhone 4s. Leo cursed under his breath. Adam laughed so loudly the rest of the cafeteria started to stare and Bree snapped back into focus, quickly cleaning herself up for the stranger, and managing to suppress her own laughter just in case he knew anything about her brother. Oh, she just had to know Chase was okay. _Please let him be okay._

"Chase has adjusted to his bionics and made a full recovery. The doctors have decided it would be best if he sees each of you one at a time to test his mental state of mind, and if thing go smoothly, you'll all be back home by this afternoon." The doctor smiled warmly and motioned for Davenport to go first. And just that, the light mood of lunch was stretched tight with tension. Under the table, Tasha crossed her fingers for good luck. Bree and Leo quickly copied her motion and Adam cocked his head in confusion.

"What are you guys doing?" He asked innocently. Tasha grinned. Adam could be so adorable sometimes.

"It's for good luck." She explained. "To help Chase get better." Adam's eyes went wide with wonder.

"And that actually _works_?!" He asked, voice high and hopeful.

"I like to think so." She answered carefully. Bree and Leo exchanged a hidden smirk, their almost conflict forgotten. Maybe that was Adam's hidden ability. Meanwhile, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, crossing his fingers, eyebrows crinkled in utter concentration. _Chase is okay. Chase is okay. Chase is okay. _Adam repeated this over and over in his head. He stayed that way in silence for a few long minutes before he finally couldn't take the suspense anymore. He had to _know_.

"Is it working?" He whispered loudly, setting off a chorus of giggles from his younger siblings. What was so funny?

"I think it just did." Tasha assured him, hoping this statement didn't make her a liar.

"Excuse me?" The same man asked from behind.

Adam screamed at the top of his lungs, his concentration shattered. Bree and Leo laughed so loudly the rest of the cafeteria started to not-so-subtly scoot away from them. Davenport sank into the chair next to Tasha and snuck her a thumbs up before she even had to ask. She smiled broadly and turned back to the man in case he had anything important to say. Meanwhile, Adam was gazing up at him in complete shock and dismay. Before he could say a word, Adam went right on with the accusations.

"Hey, I was wishing Chase good luck and you completely ruined it! _Now _how is he ever going to be okay?!" Adam rambled, sounding heartbroken. The man didn't know what to make of this at first, then it was as if a wave of understanding hit him. Oh, _of course_. This one was "special". That explained so much he had witnessed these past few days...

"Hey, don't be sad! How would you like to go see your brother right now and wish him good luck face to face? I hear that's _extra _good luck!" He offered in a cheery voice. Adam took a second to decide, looking skeptical. Then in an instant, he sprang from his chair and wrapped the doctor in a tight boa constrictor hug, immediately happy.

"Really, you mean it?! Thanks so much! I forgive you!" Adam declared, unaware he was practically strangling the poor man. Finally, he let go and ran blindly in the direction in he was pretty sure he came from, but it was mostly guesswork. Hey, some of Adam's best work was guesswork. Meanwhile, the man turned towards the Davenports, gasping for air and grabbing his chest.

"He's the one with super strength, right?" He clarified between breaths.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I probably should have warned you about him..." Davenport winced sympathetically as the man summoned enough energy to run after Adam, who had bolted in the wrong direction. While he felt sorry for dumping him on a stranger's shoulders, at the same time, he was relieved that for once he didn't have to put up with it. Almost immediately, the inventor was bombarded with questions from all three of his remaining family members, and he held up his arms in surrender, not being able to help laughing a little at their reactions.

"From most of what I could tell, Chase is going to be fine. He was a little confused and disoriented at first, but I helped jog his memory and well, nothing seems to be out of order. But all of you should look out for warning signs in his behavior just to be safe." Davenport filled them in carefully, not wanting to get their hopes up yet.

But of course, that ship had already sailed. It went on like that for awhile - one family member would come back with a positive report, and then another would leave and come back with another positive report, and the cycle repeated itself until it was finally Bree's turn to see him. She hated being last, as being first was more her speed, but her excitement just to see Chase again was enough to override the agitation. She hoped his amylagad or whatever was okay... but to be honest, she really wasn't all that worried anymore - all positive reports, so the chances of her seeing Chase hopelessly deranged were miniscule (still...). The man opened the door to what looked like a therapist's office or a school counselor that's trying too hard.

The walls were painted an eye-popping lime green, and the incredibly soft pink carpet was blanketed with throw rugs, bean bags, throw pillows; there was even a hammock in the far corner. To Bree, it seemed like every single object in that crazy room was soft. Was this Davenport's secret hippie stash? He really does have "a everything". Gazing around dumbfounded for a few moments, she jumped when she heard the suspiciously heavy steel door slam shut and lock behind her. Wait, they weren't actually locking her in here, right?! Bree's eyes grew wide and panicked for a second until she noticed the discreet security cameras positioned at every corner of the room. She let out a small breath of relief. Someone was there to witness.

"Hey." Chase's voice called from the hammock. Bree jumped again, but Chase seemed oblivious to her nerves, calm and indifferent as he swung back and forth with ease.

"Hey, you feeling okay?" She asked warily, twirling a lock of hair unconsciously. Chase shrugged, gazing up at the neon ceiling.

"Yeah, sure. Why does everyone always ask that?" He said the last part almost to himself, forgetting for a moment he wasn't alone. Feeling braver, Bree approached him.

"Mind if I join you?" She asked, motioning to the hammock. Chase shrugged.

"Do what you want." He said indifferently, as though he couldn't care less what she did. Frowning slightly at his underwhelming reaction, she fell next to him anyways and continued to talk.

"So, the doctors say if everything checks out with you, we can all go back home today. You excited?" Bree asked hopefully. A little light returned to his eyes and he smiled that smile she loved again. Thank goodness.

"Yeah, I am so sick of this place. I feel like I'm in a mental ward." Chase joked, causing Bree to laugh at their similar thoughts.

"I know, right? Thank goodness my super speed saved your butt all those months ago, or we'd be stuck here _all the time_. Can you imagine?" She laughed good-naturedly.

"It was _my_ idea to send the robots." Chase defended himself, surprisingly growing serious all of the sudden. The joking tone was gone. Bree's laughing died into confusion, but she dismissed it.

"Yeah, I guess. Well, anyways -," She quickly changed subjects. "We're going to have a _lot_ of school work to catch up on when we get back. So not looking forward to that..."

"You could always get a tutor." Chase shrugged dismissively. Bree's heart skipped a beat. Was he volunteering to help her with homework? Maybe he hadn't changed!

"Are you sure you want work for hours on end with the girl who caused all the trouble in your life?" Bree laughed at her own weak joke. Chase looked at her confused.

"You mean Danielle? Why would I be working with her?" He asked, seeming genuinely lost. Bree's smile faded, and it was right then when the truth hit her like a brick.

"Wow, this was great! I'm going to go talk to the doctor now so we can get this show on the road." She forced herself to swallow her feelings and smile again.

"Cool." Chase gave her a small sideways grin and diverted his attention back to the ceiling, his left eye beginning to glow with calculations.

Without a word, Bree stood up and left for the door, refusing to break down on camera. Hoping someone on the other side could hear, she knocked on the door for someone to let her out. The man from before whisked it open in a heartbeat and grinned hopefully at her.

"Good talk?" He asked immediately. Bree didn't waste a second getting to the heart of the matter.

"May I speak to the head doctor who performed Chase's surgery?" She asked.

"Um, I'd imagine Dr. Brink is very busy at the moment..." The man started, a bit surprised.

"Please. It's urgent." She begged. Reading her desperate expression, the man nodded and led Bree to the head doctor's office, quickly scurrying away after introducing the two.

"He mentioned you had some concerns about the procedure?" Dr. Brink asked after the man left. Bree nodded, trying to find the right words, but could eventually only managed to come up with,

"What did you do to him?" She asked, voice wavering more than she would have liked. The doctor wasn't sure how to respond to this, but gave her his best shot.

"I did what you asked. I severed the Commando's App's connection paths and reactivated the chip. Your welcome." He smiled dismissively, thinking that would end the conversation. It didn't. Bree shook her head fiercely and looked up at him, her eyes beginning to fill with tears.

"I mean, _what did you do to him_?" She demanded furiously. Dr. Brink frowned in thought, wondering if there were two "special" kids in the Davenport family, and then just like that, he remembered. He swallowed, his heart clenching in his chest. How was he going to tell her?

"You see, Spike as you call him, his connections were dominating nearly the entire brain and it was a very tedious process trying to remove him while causing as minimal damage possible to Chase's paths. We had to practically rearrange everything, but some paths simply could not be saved, as they were too deeply entwined with Spike's. In order to get rid of him, some had to stay and some had to go. Either Chase would have to spend his entire life in a paralyzed body... or we take something else away." Dr. Brink's voice trailed as he searched for the words.

"It was me, wasn't it?" Bree realized.

"Not his memories of you - he's still got those." Dr. Brink said.

"Our connection." She finished demoralized.

"I'm sorry, really I am. There was just no way we could save it." He rushed. A single tear finally fell, and Bree jerked away from him towards the door. "Wait! Just because your original connection was destroyed doesn't mean you can't grow a new one!"

Bree ran. She didn't care where or for how long, she just had to get away. She didn't give herself any time to think or lament - she had to _run_.

Chase laughed with joy as Adam barreled outside to the waiting jet with Chase clinging onto his back. Leo followed in hot pursuit to be the first one in, but Adam beat him by a millisecond and literally threw his newly awakened little brother across the room onto the couch. Normally, being tossed around like a ragdoll would be something to get on Chase's nerves, but the relief of getting out of that surgery spick and span made him a tiny bit more lenient (and Adam had bothered to land him on something soft this time, so bonus). Pretending outrage, Leo leaped onto Adam's back to try to attack him, but it was a lost cause considering he was one tenth Adam's size and had the fighting skills of... well, Leo.

Tasha and Davenport walked in next, managing to pry the little guy off his brother and onto a massage chair. Leo didn't move for the next hour. While everyone got buckled, Davenport did a silent head count of everyone and frowned. Chase raised an eyebrow in confusion. Who were they missing?

"Has anybody seen Bree?" He asked around, but only got head shakes. Oh, yeah. Chase had completely forgotten about her.

"I'm here." She announced, coming out of the bathroom. She locked eyes with Chase once, but quickly looked away. _Well, that was strange._ Chase thought, but shook it off. It was probably just some girl thing he wouldn't understand. Bree buckled into a seat on the far side of the jet and turned away from everyone to sullenly gaze out the window at the setting sun. Chase couldn't shake it off. What was her deal? Why wasn't she happy like everyone else that he come out okay? Really, it was nothing short of a miracle they'd managed not to sever anything important. Sure, they've never been close at all compared to his relations with his brothers, but even as acquaintances, she could give him a smile or thumbs up or something.

Chase shrugged it off. It was her life, and she could do whatever the heck she wanted. He wasn't going to stop her. Maybe they weren't that close, after all. Chase decided to pick up the Language Arts textbook he was supposed to read out of and grudgingly began to catch up on the mountain of work. Thirty minutes later, it was pitch black outside and pretty much everyone had fallen asleep, but not Chase. He was in the middle of his third passage about a girl mourning the loss of her best friend that was surprisingly deep when he heard muffled sniffling sounds coming from the other side of the jet. Curious, Chase wrenched his gaze from the page when he had finished the sentence and nearly fell off the couch in surprise at the sight he saw.

Bree was full out crying on the other couch, a flood of tears endlessly flowing. Chase shot to his feet, alarmed. What happened? Was is something back home? A fire, a burglary, or worse? Not being able to take the suspense, Chase rushed to her side and sank in the spot next to her. Bree looked genuinely surprised to see him, but couldn't stop the tears fast enough to hide them.

"Bree, what happened?" He asked, blindsided.

"Why do you care? You don't care about me at all!" She shot back with venom. Chase blinked, shocked.

"Of course I do. You're my sister. Now, what's this all about?" He asked again, still feeling lost. Bree looked back hopelessly, wondering what to tell him.

"You're... not..." She bit her lip, breaking off.

"I'm not what?" Chase pressed, heart pounding. She shook her head slowly.

"You wouldn't understand." Bree whispered, starting to get up. Chase grabbed her arm, surprising her.

"Please, you can tell me." He pressured. For some reason now he had to know. "I mean, I know we're not that close, but whatever's bothering you obviously needs to be let out."

Sighing with exhaustion, she sat back down but didn't say anything, silent tears falling as she collapsed into Chase's side. He stiffened, wondering how she could stand to be so close to him when she never had before. Bree noticed his tense posture and sighed, wanting to cry even more now. _He hates me. _She thought bitterly. A few minutes past and not a word was spoken. Chase shifted in his seat uncomfortably, without the slightest clue what to do or say to make her feel better. Meanwhile, his teacher needed that chapter summary done by tomorrow... he shook the thought away. His sister was an emotional wreck, and for once he wanted to do something other than call on Tasha for help. Even though Bree would probably take her step-mom over him any day.

It still confused him deeply why she said all those things to him. Sure, they weren't best friends or anything drastic, but what made her think he didn't care about her at all? He may not show it all the time, but Chase did care. At least a little. Mostly, he took hints from her and she was always busy with other stuff, so the two grew up apart. Probably for the best - she was popular, had tons of friends and boys who liked her, and Chase hadn't made a single friend at his school yet, and was classified by the inferior as a 'nerd' because they were intimidated by his smarts. It just didn't come easily to him as it did to her. Chase had never seen her like this - save for the time Spike choked her, but that was the near death experience talking. This... he didn't know what to make of it. But he definitely couldn't just sit there.

"Are you ready to tell me now?" Chase asked awkwardly.

"Just... friend drama. Boring girly stuff." Bree grumbled.

"Why did you say I didn't care at all about you?" Chase asked, truly bothered by it. Bree looked up at him, confused.

"But you don't care." She said. He gazed back, hurt by her words. Is that what he made her think?

"I do. I do care. I always have." Chase insisted, just now realizing how much she meant to him. He never gave much thought to it before, but she had to know how he felt. He always knew they'd grown apart, but he never wanted her to think he didn't care. How could he let this happen? Bree's gaze flicked down to her shoes.

"Do you love me?" She said the words so softly, Chase was sure if he didn't have bionic hearing, he would have missed it.

A moment passed, and his heart was pounding. Why would she want to know that? Why would she want him to feel anything towards her? Bree sighed and broke away from him, faltering to the other side of the jet. _That's what I thought._ She thought to herself, settling back into her chair facing the darkened sky. He was gone. He felt nothing.

"Yes." Chase said suddenly. It was small, it still had to grow, but a new connection sparked and slithered in his mind as he saw his sister with new eyes.

* * *

**A/N: For the record, that was not a Brase ending, it was a Brase friendship ending. I don't support the romantic ship because that's incest, but I AM a strong supporter of their brother/sister friendship. I love sibling bonds and that's that (on a different topic, I hope it wasn't too cliché...). But now for the last Gray Hour note... *sniffle*.**

**I loved this story _so much_. I had _so much_ fun writing this. I've been struggling to write independent (meaning non-Fan Fiction) stories for awhile now, and a whole lot of them are lying around unfinished due to my loss of interest. This is the first one I've ever pushed myself to completing and it will always be extra special to me because of it. Everyone who has ever reviewed, followed, favorited, or even read this, I love you too. I plan on pursuing a career in writing, and I just want you all to know that your support helped me get to this point, so thank you. Since I'm going to be focusing more on other works outside this site, my activity will slow down substantially apart from maybe the occasional one-shot when I have an idea eating me alive. I can't imagine I'll ever stop reading Fan Fictions, and I always believe in leaving reviews where reviews are needed, so I'll be there too. Since this is the end of Gray Hour, I would love it if you left a review on the overall story and your thoughts. I can't bribe you or pay you, but would make my day. (:**

**-StripedFuzzySocks-**


End file.
